Formed last year, Concrete JSI is a group of 26 concrete associations dedicated to promoting the sustainable attributes of concrete as a building material. Initially chartered by the American Concrete Institute, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, and the Portland Cement Association (PCA), the group was formed to align advocacy, technology, and educational resources related to concrete sustainability.
"This never-before-seen collaboration of the many market segments of the concrete industry will bring together its diverse resources to convey the social value of building sustainable homes, roads, schools, and other structures," Concrete Chairperson Aris Papadopoulos said.
2010 activities of the Concrete JSI include the distribution to the industry a series of nine PowerPoint presentations that communicate the purpose of the partnership and discuss each of the eight social values of concrete, as defined by the Concrete JSI. Member organizations of the Concrete JSI will use these presentations to introduce internal and external audiences to the shared message of concrete sustainability. The presentations are available at Concrete JSI's website (www.SustainableConcrete.org).
The website, in addition to being a resource center for the members of the Concrete JSI, serves as the industry's primary portal for educational and outreach efforts related to the sustainability of concrete structures. Included are links to the sites of all member associations.
Concrete JSI also is mapping out the research and development programs of each of its member organizations to identify synergies, overlaps, and gaps to further develop and refine the research base related to concrete sustainability. The result is expected to be minimization of the duplication of activities among the member organizations and further cooperation in areas of technical committees, educational seminars, publications, certification, marketing, and other related activities pertaining to sustainable development.
As the group moves forward with its initiatives, it also plans to maintain a presence at sustainable building events and magnify the industry's visibility and impact on green building practices.
All Concrete JSI member organizations have signed the charter "Joint Declaration of Industry Vision for a Sustainable Future," which contains nine declarations that provides its guiding principles. At its core are the following eight specific social values that concrete structures contribute, according to the group:
Conserve Resources -- Concrete structures throughout their lifecycle are efficient users of energy, water, land, and other resources.
Safer Living -- Concrete structures provide a superior level of user safety, protection, and peace of mind.
Lower Cost -- Concrete structures provide economic advantage both from a total cost of ownership perspective and from greater local content benefit to communities.
Protect Communities -- Concrete structures offer greater disaster resistance, protecting essential community services and business continuity.
Durability -- Concrete structures outlast the useful lives of other structures with minimal maintenance and repair.
Reduce Waste -- Concrete structures over their life cycle produce a reduced level of byproducts (including carbon dioxide), use the byproducts of other activities, and can ultimately be recycled themselves.
Beauty -- Concrete structures can be designed to create aesthetic quality for users and their surroundings.
Connecting People -- Concrete structures provide the essential links (roads, bridges, ports, utility infrastructure, etc.) that enable society to function safely and efficiently as well as prosper financially.
Toward fulfilling the mission of Concrete JSI, the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub is conducting a life-cycle assessment of concrete on paving and building structures, David Shepherd, PCA's diretor of sustainable development, told GBI. Initial reports are expected by September, he added.
Also in support of the Concrete JSI mission, the U.S. Green Concrete Council, a subsidiary of the American Concrete Institute, has released what is believed to be the first comprehensive resource on concrete and sustainability. The Sustainable Concrete Guide: Strategies and Examples, explains the intent and strategies for reducing environmental impacts with various concrete technologies.
When asked what strides has Concrete JSI made in terms of policy and standards development, Shepherd said, "Although the collaboration has accomplished several initial activities, including the launch of a website to inform users of the broader value to society that concrete can provide, we still have significant work to do in the upcoming years.
"Critical to this is the mapping and prioritization of strategic goals for the next three years that address the following: codes and standards alignment with environmentally preferred practices in concert with recent codes activities by the International Green Construction Code and the California Green Code Council (12 to 18 months); and identifying and evaluating a robust reporting mechanism and/or process to encompass the broad range of factors, applications, and technologies utilized by the concrete industry (24 months)."
Shepherd believes that sustainable concrete offers many environmental advantages. "The operational energy use and associated emissions to air during the life of the building is 85 percent to 95 percent of the total energy and emissions, including that embodied in construction materials and used for maintenance. Buildings with exterior concrete walls, also called 'mass walls,' utilize less energy to heat and cool than similarly insulated buildings with wood or steel frame walls. Because of the energy savings due to thermal mass, smaller heating and cooling units may also be possible."
