News Detail

ACI Leaders Speak at Concrete Sustainability Conference

6/20/2016

On June 13-15, over 200 concrete professionals gathered in Madrid, Spain, to hear the latest research and trends in concrete sustainability.  Topics included environmental impact reduction technologies, durability, environmental design, evaluation and systems, socio-economic aspects and case studies on sustainable concrete materials and structures. 

Koji Sakai, FACI, Co-Chair of the annual ACI Concrete Sustainability Forum, served as Chairman of the conference and provided opening remarks on the need for our industry to share new technologies, continue investing in research, and utilize the new ISO-13315 standards for environmental management for concrete and concrete structures.

ACI President Mike Schneider, FACI, delivered one of four keynote addresses.  “Now more than ever, concrete design and construction projects must integrate innovative techniques and technologies to keep pace with ever-evolving economic, environmental, and aesthetic demands,” said Schneider.  “Structures must be designed to protect against disasters and be resilient against climate change.”  Schneider went on to discuss ACI’s vision and the many sustainability resources available from the Institute, while highlighting the demands facing professionals in the concrete design, construction, and materials industry.  Schneider then provided numerous examples of sustainable projects from Baker Concrete Construction. 

At #ICCS16 in Madrid, @ConcreteACI President M. Schneider highlights ACI's vision for the future. pic.twitter.com/KS40tiHu3S

— AmericanConcreteInst (@ConcreteACI) June 13, 2016

Later in the conference, Julie Buffenbarger, FACI, Co-Chair of the ACI Concrete Sustainability Forum and Chair of ACI Committee 130 Sustainability of Concrete, talked about resiliency as the key to a sustainable future.  Given the intensity of climate change, a call for resilience employing transformative innovations in urban planning, industrial technology, and environmental policy is necessary, Buffenbarger remarked.  She went on to discuss that while disaster risks cannot be eliminated, their magnitude and duration can be reduced through effective prevention, protection of infrastructure and ecosystem assets, mitigation, response, and recovery. 

The conference was sponsored by ACI, the Asociacion Latino Americana de Control de Calidad Patologia y Recuperacion de la Construccion, the Asociacion Cientifico-Tecnia del Hormigon Estructural, the International Federation for Structural Concrete (fib), the Japan Concrete Institute, and International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials (RILEM). 

More information about the conference and the 172 papers that were presented can be found at http://iccs16.org/ -- the third International Conference on Concrete Sustainability is being planned for 2020 at the Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic.