News Detail

Sustainability: What is ACI Doing About it?

9/1/2006

You can't go to an industry meeting these days without hearing about "sustainability" and "sustainable development." What is it and what is ACI doing about it? ASTM International defines sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." ACI is taking a very proactive approach through widespread participation and leadership in numerous green-related associations and initiatives regarding sustainability as it applies to concrete.

In 2000, ACI established a Board Task Group, which, in 2004, became the Board Advisory Committee on Sustainable Development, whose mission is to "develop and recommend policies and develop information on sustainable concrete development for the Institute." An ACI position paper on sustainable development was developed and published in Concrete International (July 2002).

The concrete industry has long been aware of the importance of sustainability, as evidenced by the Environmental Council of Concrete Organizations (ECCO). Founded in the mid-1990s, ECCO (www.ecco.org) was the first industry organization to increase awareness of the environmental aspects and benefits of concrete and concrete products. ACI has been an active participant in ECCO and currently chairs the group.

Considerable attention is devoted to systems like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Globes™ of the Green Building Initiative (GBI). ACI has been a member of USGBC since 2001 and ACI staff is involved in local chapter leadership in the Michigan area. Numerous other ACI members participate in regional chapters across the U.S. as well. This year's USGBC's GreenBuild, with more than 10,000 attendees expected, will be held in Denver, CO, the week after the ACI 2006 Fall Convention.

Each autumn, the ACI President visits the Washington, D.C., corridor to meet with various associations to nurture existing relationships and explore new ones. My plans include meeting with the leadership of construction-related groups such as the Associated General Contractors of America, the Design-Build Institute of America, the American Institute of Architects, and the USGBC, where a dialogue regarding progress on sustainable issues is part of the agenda.

ACI is also a supporter and active participant in GBI. Founded in 2004 and accredited as an ANSI standards developing organization in 2005, GBI has established its first technical committee whose goal is to establish Green Globes™ as an American national standard. ACI staff is an original member on the main technical committee and chairs one of its subcommittees.

The ACI Board of Direction voted in November 2005 to support the Green Highways Initiative (GHI). This effort, currently concentrated in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., is to identify what constitutes a green highway and focus on developing partnerships and market-driven approaches to ensure that U.S. transportation needs are satisfied in a sustainable way. GHI's vision is to involve stakeholders in the development of a rating system, before one is imposed on the industry.

Each year, CEOs from the 33 groups who are members of Concrete and Masonry-Related Associations (CAMRA) meet to discuss issues facing the industry. As Chair of CAMRA, ACI brought representatives of USGBC and GBI to Chicago this past June to meet with CAMRA. CAMRA has now established a task group to examine how the concrete industry can coordinate activities among groups such as ACI's Board Advisory Committee on Sustainable Development, ECCO, and the concrete industry's North America Concrete Alliance-Sustainable Development to become a more coordinated and effective force representing concrete's interests in the green movement.

Last fall, PCA and ACI discussed a joint effort to sponsor a Concrete Sustainability Summit to be facilitated by ACI's Strategic Development Council. This summit will provide the concrete industry an opportunity to examine concrete's role in sustainable development and sustainability's impact on our industry, and develop a coordinated, proactive industry approach.

The result of all this activity is not yet apparent. Many challenges lie ahead in the pursuit of a credibly technical and rational approach to this very broad and potentially politically-charged area of sustainable development. It is clear, however, that ACI is well positioned to play an important role for the concrete industry as the building and design industry's responses to the demand for sustainability unfold.

Thomas D. Verti, President
American Concrete Institute
tverti@pankow.com

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