By William Larson
Cement and concrete provide resilience to the effects of climate change while reducing CO2 emissions and attaining GHG reduction targets.
Seattle, WA – May 24, 2021 – The Pacific Northwest Building Resilience Coalition, in partnership with the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, is hosting four distinct webinars on the Pathway to Resilience and Carbon Neutrality starting on June 8, 2021.
The webinar series will focus on how the cement and concrete industries provide resilience to the effects of climate change while lowering CO2 emissions in line with national and international Greenhouse Gas emissions reduction targets.
It will feature presentations by some of the world’s leading experts on how construction practices in the future will affect what and how we build and how the cement and concrete industries will reduce CO2 and other GHG emissions to address climate change.
As governments move toward rebuilding resilient infrastructure and economies after COVID-19, we must ensure that recovery plans can shape our current and future economies in ways that are clean, green, safe, and above all resilient.
Considering state and pending federal legislation such as the Washington State “Climate Commitment Act” and state and federal “Buy Clean” legislation, building material manufacturers will require adaptation to stricter greenhouse gas emission regulations. The environmental impact of those materials during manufacture, while in the use phase, the end-of-life phase, and beyond, will play an essential role in attaining our GHG goals in the future.
The current COVID-19 crisis is an opportunity for a profound paradigm shift to a more sustainable economy that works for both the planet and its inhabitants as the most widely used material on earth, water, cement, and concrete products will significantly address climate change.
In December 2020, the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) announced its plan to address the effects of climate change, “Climate Ambition.” The Climate Ambition Plan enhances the industry’s commitment to driving down its CO2 footprint to achieve carbon-neutral concrete by 2050.
Climate Ambition unites the world’s leading cement and concrete manufacturers, who operate in almost every country globally, in taking decisive climate and sustainability action.
To help achieve this goal, the Pacific Northwest Building Resilience Coalition, in partnership with the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, is hosting four distinct webinars on the Pathway to Resilience and Carbon Neutrality. You can take advantage of these free events starting on June 8, 2021.
Persons interested in any or all of these FREE Webinars can register here: bit.ly/resiliencepathway
Constructing and operating our built environment makes up a significant part of our economy, resource consumption, and environmental impact. Do not miss this chance to hear from three of the world’s top experts on how the circular economy, biodiversity crisis, and carbon challenge, together in a changing world, impact the answers to these important questions.
How will environmental considerations and construction practices in the future affect what we build and how we build? What are the cement and concrete industries doing to reduce CO2 and GHG emissions to address climate change?
Featured Presenters Include:
Andrew Minson, Concrete and Sustainable Construction Director, Global Cement & Concrete Association, London, UK
Richard Bohan, Vice President, Sustainability, Portland Cement Association – Chicago, IL USA
Adam Auer, Vice President, Environment and Sustainability – Cement Association of Canada – Ottawa, ON, CA
In addition to performance, budget, and aesthetics, policymakers and 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. From material and product selection to envelope design and construction, every design decision can impact the environment, and the methods used to evaluate those decisions are still not widely understood. This webinar will address critical issues policymakers and design professionals should consider evaluating the environmental impacts of building materials to maximize resilience, performance and deliver lasting value.
Featured Presenter:
Tien Peng, Senior Vice President of Sustainability, Codes, and Standards, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
. This webinar by the Concrete Sustainability Hub at MIT addresses the carbon footprint of the concrete industry. At the same time, achieving global sustainable development goals depends on the expansion of infrastructure and housing that depends upon concrete. This presentation will discuss critical strategies to reduce emissions from concrete production and cases where concrete application leads to emission reductions during infrastructure use.
Featured Presenter:
Randolph E. Kirchain, Ph.D., Co-Director of the Concrete Sustainability Hub, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
This timely presentation prepared by the U.S. Resiliency Council explores research and case studies from various reliable sources to demonstrate that disaster-resistant buildings’ economic and environmental impacts are a sound economic investment for business and government entities, particularly those that serve, employ or house large numbers of people. The growing impact of extreme weather incidents and climate change makes resiliency planning and the use of more resilient building materials a critical imperative.
Featured Presenter:
Evan Reis, SE, PE Executive Director, and Co-Founder, U.S. Resiliency Council
The PNBRC/PNWER Professional Webinar Series is a sponsored prelude to PNWER’s 30th Annual Summit in Big Sky, Montana, August 15-19, 2021. The 2021 Summit promises robust in-person and virtual content and networking opportunities that will allow our in-person attendees to enjoy all that Big Sky has to offer and the opportunity to reach a broader audience virtually throughout the region and as far away as Ottawa and Washington, D.C.
About the Pacific Northwest Building Resilience Coalition: The Pacific Northwest Building Resilience Coalition is a gathering of organizations, primarily in the cement, concrete, and masonry industries, committed to furthering the planning, development, and construction of buildings and associated infrastructure better able to recover from and to adapt to the growing impacts of an ever-changing urban and physical environment. Learn more here:
About the Pacific Northwest Economic Region: The Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) Foundation is a statutory public/private nonprofit created in 1991 by the U.S. states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Washington and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan and the territories of the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. Learn more here:
William Larson, a former Vice President Marketing at CalPortland, has served as Chairman of the Pacific Northwest Building Resilience Coalition since its formation in 2016.
Contact Bill at larsonwr@verizon.net, Follow William on LinkedIn
The new approach “nudges” existing climate simulations closer to future reality.
First Comprehensive Federal Strategy Outlines Pathways to Reduce Emissions 90% in Buildings Sector by 2050,…
Technological advances and innovation make modular construction a great way to combat the delays of…
Some say there are two types of concrete – cracked and on the brink of…
This simole web-based tool empowering design and build teams to specify low-carbon concrete for various…
A major initiative has been launched to accelerate the adoption of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission…