News Detail

Are We Green Yet?

10/1/2010

This issue, ACI President Dick Stehly has invited me, as Chair of ACI Committee 130, Sustainability of Concrete, to be a guest columnist on the topic of sustainability. With all of the recent initiatives and discussions about sustainability, I've heard a few comments along the lines of "Have we finished this sustainability initiative yet?" or "Can't you just give us the recipe for green concrete?"

First, let's consider the common definition of sustainability—endorsed by ACI Committee 130—which is to "meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This requires balancing the demands of three areas: economic, social, and environmental (more commonly referred to as "green").

So, by its very definition, sustainability is something we will always be striving toward reaching rather than a firm end point. It’s not as simple as whipping up green concrete that fits every situation—that's not any more likely than having a universal standard concrete mixture design. Each mixture is customized to meet performance requirements, including sustainability performance.

Green building codes are being adopted at both the state and national levels, and ACI and the concrete industry have moved quickly over the last 2 years to bring our industry's specialized knowledge to
the sustainability area. Examples of the ongoing activities include:

• ACI Committee 130 is producing a report on sustainable concrete within a short time frame;
• The Concrete Joint Sustainability Initiative continues to gain momentum;
• Sustainability-themed workshops and sessions at ACI are increasing dramatically (with great attendance);
• ACI committees are developing materials on sustainability in their expertise area; and
• E-learning courses are under development.

Many other things are being planned. You can go to www.green.concrete.org to see the ACI green building resources all in one place. In addition, The Sustainable Concrete Guide—Applications, the second in a series of guides on sustainable concrete published by the U.S. Green Concrete Council, will soon be available from ACI. It will feature case studies on specifying concrete materials, constructing for sustainability, and navigating green codes and standards.

Sustainability-related events will be featured at the upcoming ACI Fall Convention—themed "Green Concrete in the Steel City"—taking place October 24-28, 2010, in Pittsburgh, PA. The ACI Concrete Sustainability Forum III, scheduled for October 23, is of particular importance. Attendees will have an opportunity to hear information about the activities of countries that are pioneering concrete sustainability, as well as updates on the development of standards by ISO/TC 71 Subcommittee 8, Environmental Management for Concrete and Concrete Structures.

ACI Committee 130 members will be visiting with technical committees, when requested, to discuss how sustainability can best fit into their mission—your committee members have the expertise we need to integrate sustainable practices into ACI documents. If you’d like someone to attend your meeting at a future convention, please just e-mail me at aschokke@d.umn.edu, and we’ll add you to our list. We’ll customize our discussion to your committee and answer any questions you have.

Sustainability is integral to what we do and will become even more so in the future. We will know that we are green when the industry has changed the way it thinks about, designs, builds, and uses concrete structures. When the environmental footprint of a structure is among the first considerations of a new project, we will be that much closer to the goal of sustainable construction. We all benefit from a more sustainable society and as a key information source for our field, we can all help achieve it.

The leadership from ACI Past President Florian Barth and current ACI President Dick Stehly has made a huge difference in the progress we’ve made. I also want to thank Julie Buffenbarger, Vice Chair of ACI Committee 130, and Emily Lorenz, Secretary of ACI Committee 130, for their efforts—they bring a wealth of knowledge in sustainability and I learn from them each time we meet.

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