News Detail

Looking Ahead

3/1/2022

This is my last Memo as ACI President. As I pondered ideas for the message I wanted to convey, I considered several topics. I thought about recapping the past year and discussing ACI’s many achievements. I considered going in a different direction and giving you an insight into the COVID-19 related challenges that ACI staff and leadership faced over the last 2 years and how adroitly they were confronted and overcome. And I also considered writing about ACI’s expanding international role and the valuable partnerships we are nurturing around the world.

These topics were all worthwhile for my last Memo. But in the end, I decided to direct my thoughts to the future because envisioning the future is more important than dwelling on the past. What’s done is done. But what’s yet to be created originates from our vision and our willingness to pursue it. So instead of writing about what the Institute has accomplished, as impressive as it is, I decided to explore where it’s going. What exciting opportunities await us if we are bold enough to pursue them? Where will they take us? And how should ACI position itself to play a leading role?

Let’s begin with one of the biggest challenges confronting our industry—achieving carbon neutrality. It’s no mystery that concrete is responsible for nearly 10% of excess global carbon emissions. It’s also no mystery that many political entities, trade associations, companies, and individuals in the concrete industry are working on this problem. A challenge going forward is to unify and focus these activities, and this can best be accomplished by a professional organization with a global wingspan. That entity is ACI. Our Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete will soon be introduced and begin work. It will serve as a resource for the entire industry and assist the many incubating companies that need help scaling up their ideas, products, and services.

Looking further ahead, I find it intriguing to ask ourselves what our industry will look like in 50 years, 100 years, or longer. What differences will there be in education? What new advancements will have occurred in concrete materials? Our hardware and software for designing structures will undoubtedly have changed—how? In construction, what new systems and equipment will be in use, and will they be controlled by human beings or artificial intelligence?

These are all important questions. And if you assume as I do that change in all areas of our industry—education, materials, design, and construction—will be rapid and continual, it’s intriguing to ponder where those changes will take us. And most importantly, to commit to being a participant and not a bystander. Participants will lead the change; bystanders will follow it. ACI is in a unique position to lead it. That being the case, I’ll offer some final thoughts on where future ACI leadership should target its efforts.

Knowledge growth—not just in our industry but in all areas of human endeavor—leads to specialization. As growth continues, one specialty becomes two, and two become four. Although knowledge growth is net positive, it does have negative consequences. Chief among these is the tendency to divide and fracture fields of activity, which makes unification of effort increasingly difficult. Using the example of a construction project, modern projects involve dozens—sometimes hundreds—of design and construction disciplines, each playing a specialized role. In times past, that same project was handled by the “Renaissance person” who could do it all. No longer.

ACI can play a crucial role in combatting the consequences of a fractured industry. As a professional, consensus-based organization, we are uniquely positioned to unify and not divide, to promote collaboration over competition, and to nurture global relationships that benefit our entire industry. That should be our focus. May it always be so.

It has been a great honor to serve as your President. My respect for the Institute, its members, and what we represent nationally and internationally has grown with each new experience. And this increased respect has strengthened my commitment to remaining an active participant in and contributor to this great organization we call ACI. May we continue together in the spirit of “Always advancing.”

Cary S. Kopczynski

ACI President