Concrete Innovations: Pathways to Reducing Carbon Footprint

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Cutting-edge building projects must use durable materials that also help reduce carbon footprint. Concrete is the material of choice for the tallest buildings in the world and infrastructure designed to last centuries.


This session explores how new products using pozzolans, calcined clay, biochar, and other innovations enhance a product that is nearly 5,000 years in development and provides another pathway for meeting future challenges in the built environment. This presentation includes the histories, compositions, and environmental impacts of these technologies and offers case studies to show how innovation is being put into action.

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The Environmental Impacts of Building Materials – Comparing Concrete, Wood, and Steel

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. The impact of building materials on the environment continues to grow in importance within the construction industry. In addition to performance, budget and aesthetics, design professionals are now being asked to evaluate the environmental burdens of their design choices. Measuring the impacts of buildings, assemblies and products can be complex. Every design decision, from material and product selection to envelope design and construction can have an impact on the environment and the methods used to evaluate those decisions are still not widely understood.


This presentation will address critical issues the design professional should consider when evaluating the environmental impacts of building materials to maximize performance and deliver lasting value.

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A Discussion on the Top 10 Ways to Reduce Concrete’s Carbon Footprint

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Concrete is the building block of modern society and the most widely used building material. Nearly every structure built today, including buildings, bridges, homes, and infrastructure uses concrete in some way. It provides us with shelter along with places to work, learn and play. It connects us through roads and rapid transit and airports. Water is delivered and treated in concrete structures. Concrete is economical, available everywhere, durable, and versatile.

As demand for building construction continues to increase, it is likely the demand for concrete will also increase. Like all building products, however, concrete has a carbon footprint. This presentation will analyze the top ten strategies to take advantage of concrete’s benefits while ensuring the lowest possible carbon footprint.

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Life Cycle Assessment of Concrete Buildings

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. When looking at the environmental impact of a building, it is important to assess every stage of the environmental life cycle, from material extraction and product manufacturing to building operations and maintenance through to end-of-life.

Concrete offers many environmental attributes that help reduce the overall environmental life cycle impacts of a building. This session explores how life cycle assessment can be used to measure and lower the environmental impacts of buildings.

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A Case for Concrete: Let's Talk About Strength

An inspiring look at what makes concrete one of the strongest, most durable and resilient building materials on earth.

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Hazard Mitigation: Build With Strength

Extreme weather events costs the US billions in recovery every year. Find out why building a resilient structure pays off.

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What Makes ICFs Better

Working with concrete doesn’t get any easier than this. With insulated concrete forms (ICFs), you get strength, flexibility and cost-efficiency all in one method. Once you use it, you’ll see why so many builders adopt the technique – and never look back.

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Ready. Set. Build.

Dr. Jeremy Gregory, MIT research scientist and executive director of the Concrete Sustainability Hub, discusses how the versatility of concrete results in a range of performance benefits.

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Build a More Sustainable Future

Concrete gives you a lasting return on investment. Nothing is stronger, more durable or more versatile. To build a more sustainable future, we build with concrete.

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Setting GWP Budgets for Concrete Buildings with LCA Based Carbon Accounting Tools

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Design professionals have always addressed issues of performance, budgets, and aesthetics. Now they are also being asked to evaluate the environmental burdens of their material choices. Every design decision can have an impact on the environment. The methods used to evaluate those decisions can often be misunderstood. This presentation examines the process of quantifying the true global warming potential (GWP) to accurately inform the true impacts of building material choices.


Tools like the web based NRMCA Concrete Carbon Calculator help concrete producers, contractors and design teams to collaborate on setting carbon budgets on projects and compares baseline projects to proposed projects to exceed embodied carbon reduction goals. Step-by-step details will demonstrate how to use the tool to set a carbon budget and write a specification that allows for the lowest possible carbon footprint for the ready mixed concrete proposed for various projects.

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