Building The Future – What, how and what from

Constructing and operating our built environment is a significant part of our economy, resource consumption, and environmental impact. So, it is only natural that we examine how future construction practices will affect what we build and how we build it.

What must the cement and concrete industries do to reduce CO₂ and GHG emissions to address the impacts of climate change?

No one is better qualified to answer that question than Dr. Andrew Minson, one of the world’s leading experts on how the cement and concrete industries can provide resilience to climate change while lowering CO₂ emissions in line with national and international greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

As Director of Concrete and Sustainable Construction of the Global Cement and Concrete Association, Dr. Minson believes that Concrete  –the world’s most widely used building product – can lead to a lower carbon footprint in the built environment.

Dr. Minson has worked as an international engineering consultant for 10 years on projects worldwide before joining the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) in London, England, where he is responsible for the GCCA Roadmap Process: Carbon-Neutral Concrete by 2050.

Dr. Minson believes that a more sustainable future is possible for the concrete industry through a wide range of supportive activities. These activities include:

• Providing a comprehensive data set which allows performance benchmarking for comparison and improvement by participating companies and communication with stakeholders; and
• Supporting members to improve performance with guidance for good practices.
• Promoting knowledge sharing across the industry.
• Fostering innovation through the Global Cement and Concrete Research Network, and
• Providing opportunities to support innovation in the sector.

He also believes new concrete forms are fully reusable, absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, and use waste products from other sectors; more responsibly sourced, long-lasting building products are possible.

In partnership with the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, Dr. Minson’s presentation is one of six webinars organized by the Pacific Northwest Building Resilience Coalition.