News Detail

Introducing a New Collaboration Opportunity for the Concrete Industry

4/4/2022

Over ACI’s long history, the Institute has fulfilled its vision of providing everyone the knowledge needed to use concrete effectively to meet the demands of a changing world in many ways. Some notable examples include developing, disseminating, and advocating for the adoption of ACI building codes that ensure the public with safe and durable concrete structures and ACI certification programs that assess the competency of concrete inspections and craft individuals to provide quality concrete infrastructure. One of the biggest challenges facing the world today is global warming due to greenhouse gases. According to some studies, the concrete industry is responsible for approximately 7% of greenhouse gases worldwide. Therefore, concrete must play a significant role in a sustainable future. Consistent with its vision, ACI is uniquely positioned to take on this challenge.

In keeping with the Institute’s goal of “always advancing,” there has been a very significant development approved by the ACI Board of Direction that I want to share with you. I am pleased to announce the establishment of NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete that will be known as the NEU Center. With ACI’s stature as a standards-developing institution and one of the world’s largest sources of consensus-based information and codes and standards on all facets of concrete construction, an ACI Center of Excellence is uniquely positioned to provide access to technologies and the knowledge needed to effectively and safely produce and place carbon-neutral concrete in the built environment. The NEU Center is already operational, with Andrea Schokker as its Executive Director. Schokker is a leading expert in concrete sustainability issues and ACI’s standards development process. In addition, a Technical Director and other support staff will be added soon.

The NEU Center’s adopted vision is a concrete industry where all stakeholders have access to technologies and the knowledge needed to effectively and safely produce and place carbon-neutral concrete and concrete products in the built environment. The vision is supported by a mission to collaborate globally to drive research, education, awareness, and adoption of carbon-neutral materials and technologies in the built environment.

The NEU Center will begin building implementation actions from existing industry “roadmaps” to affect changes needed in specific built environment sectors. Another significant undertaking will be to start working with partners worldwide to develop a comprehensive plan for making the concrete industry carbon neutral by 2050. Within these general thrusts, several possible implementation activities (core functions) include:

• Technology Acceleration—The NEU Center will be a gateway for new technologies entering the industry and directing necessary resources to accelerate their adoption;
• Coordination with ACI committees—ACI technical and educational committees are recognized worldwide as a resource for unbiased consensus information on topics related to concrete. As appropriate, the NEU Center will support the activities of these committees and assist in the dissemination and adoption of committee resources;
• Technology Transfer and Professional Development—The NEU Center will make this a key focus. It is widely recognized that a significant hurdle to implementation is gaining awareness and getting buy-in from those in and entering the industry;
• Technology Assessment and Validation—An important and early-to-be-launched function of the NEU Center will serve as the industry’s resource for evaluating carbon-reducing technologies;
• Advocacy and Technical Support—The NEU Center, collaborating with ACI Code Advocacy staff, will work to have model codes authorities and jurisdictions adopt consensus carbon-neutral requirements worldwide; and
• International and Student Outreach—The NEU Center will leverage ACI’s relationships with its extensive network of International Partners, ACI Chapters, and ACI student members to achieve its objectives. Empowering and motivating the next generation of engineers and technologists to be actively involved and support the decarbonization efforts will be a crucial effort of the NEU Center.

The NEU Center’s goals are lofty and require collaboration and commitment from the entire concrete industry to change the culture of the industry and achieve its objectives. To that end, the NEU Center will be open for membership to cement and concrete producers, manufacturers of concrete products, material suppliers, developers and owners, architects and engineers, contractors, standards developing organizations, educational institutions, and specifying agencies—in short, anyone interested in making concrete a carbon-neutral and environmentally friendly solution to meet the world’s needs.

To learn more about NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete, visit www.neuconcrete.org.

Ronald G. Burg, PE

American Concrete Institute