Earth Day 2021 – William Larson’s Personal Note to his Friends and Colleagues

By William Larson, Chairman, Pacific Northwest Building Resilience Coalition

On this Earth Day 2021, we need to reflect on the simple fact that not only did we inherit the Earth from our ancestors, but we are also borrowing it from our children and their children. In this regard, we are merely the stewards of the Earth for those who follow us. 

If you think about it, we need to worry about plenty of things right now when it comes to good old “Planet Earth.” 

Within the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, there are the growing effects of climate change, pollution, unmanaged waste, and animals and other endangered species becoming extinct because “the stewards” are not treating the planet in the proper manner required for its survival.

 We live in a beautiful place, but the possibility/probability is that we are preparing this planet to become a desolate, barren, uninhabited sphere that orbits the sun.

So, what can we do? Perhaps we can truly take care of this place and be more conscious about the indelible footprint our actions are leaving on the Earth, which will have dire consequences long after we’re gone. 

We need to act now. We need to work in a manner that allows us to provide the swiftest and most significant environmental impact for the reduction of greenhouse gas creation, depletion of our natural resources, and eradicating our species.

It is time to recognize that our Earth has environmental limits and that we have broached those boundaries far too often and in far too many ways. How we live, work, learn and grow as a society will have to adapt to new and sobering realities. Change is more than just an option. It is the key to our survival. 

And the process of change starts with every one of us. We must adapt to new realities that may be anything but “normal” but are unavoidable. Most importantly, we must quickly reduce and end the harm we are inflicting on our natural environment. Reducing our carbon impacts is not just an option; it is necessary.

In modern established economic systems, goods are produced, used, and discarded within a “linear economy” where the direction has a distinct beginning and end. Things are usually built, used, and discarded. 

There is an alternate economic model that operates quite differently. Products and services in a “circular economy” are designed in a way that allows them to be reused, repurposed, deconstructed, and, when ultimately discarded, disposed of in a manner that is restorative and regenerative. 

The concrete and cement industries are already key players in creating a circular economy. We utilize recycled/secondary aggregates and cementitious industrial byproducts in making concrete, and we use alternative fuels/raw materials for cement kilns for several decades. 

Cement and concrete are vital construction materials for renewable energy infrastructure, low-carbon transportation systems, and sustainable buildings that can withstand the tests of time and the elements. 

These industries also play a central role in achieving a carbon-neutral and climate-resilient society. They are at the forefront of research and innovation to lower the embodied carbon content of cement and concrete, which is the foundation of our economies and our society.

The global cement and concrete industries have committed to reducing the CO2 footprint of their operations and products and aspire to deliver society with carbon-neutral concrete by 2050.

 These industries are committed to working across the built environment value chain to deliver this ambitious goal in a circular economy, in a whole life context. 

These actions are outlined in the Global Cement and Concrete Association’s Climate Ambition Statement, the Portland Cement Association’s Carbon Neutrality Road Map for the Cement and Concrete Industry, as well as the Cement Association of Canada’s The Path to Zero. 

Along with this paradigm shift are research findings on the natural sequestration of carbon through what is known as carbonation, a chemical process where concrete binders exposed to the air can break down and sequester atmospheric CO2. 

The fact that concrete does absorb CO2 is of great interest from an environmental perspective. The ability of concrete to absorb CO2 offers a potentially important method of reducing the construction industry’s carbon footprint.  

All concrete carbonates over its lifetime, and according to one estimate, 4.5 billion tons of CO2 have been sequestered in concrete between 1930 and 2013, offsetting 43% of the CO2 produced by the cement industry. 

Much of this activity occurs during demolition when more of the concrete is exposed. With increased recycling of concrete waste, the opportunity exists to enhance carbonation during the destruction, reprocessing, and reuse of concrete, creating a vast carbon sink. 

Many of us who build the homes, offices, factories, roads, and bridges that sustain our society have already begun to change how we work. 

We are demonstrating that we can build faster, better, and stronger. We can make our communities more sustainable, resilient, safer, and livable. We are showing leadership, resolve, and the will to act to meet some of the most significant challenges the world is facing. 

My key message is that we will survive these many challenges if we work together. 

This past year has been a time of trial, but it has allowed us to look closely at reshaping the future. We must not lose sight of this vital fact. 

I know that we have the will and the capacities to persevere and prosper. We shall do this together, and in the end, it will make us stronger for the future.

William Larson, a former Vice President of Marketing at CalPortland, has served as Chairman, of the Steering Committee coordinating the development of the Pacific Northwest Building Resilience Coalition since its inception in October 2016.