Promoting Concrete's Resilience

The concrete industry has primarily focused on two strategies to make the case for concrete construction in light of the new technologies in the market, especially in multi-story wood design. The first is how to reduce first costs through new technology of their own. The second is centered around calculating the carbon cost of concrete considering the material’s life-cycle.

The concrete industry is missing a third, essential, strategy, and one where it is a natural leader compared to other materials. Carbon, or green design, is only one component of sustainability. The other is resilience.

The US Resiliency Council is committed to building public awareness of the performance of buildings in natural disasters and communicating the value of resilience-based design in protecting not only the lives, but the livelihoods of Americans. Both the social and the economic impacts that natural disasters cause are absolutely critical to defining a society, or a business, or a family as sustainable. We must not only have a low impact on the environment, the environment must have a low impact on us.

The concrete industry must engage in similar education and advocacy if it is to build public demand for higher performing buildings.

This presentation will describe how resilience can be measured in terms of safety, as well as the economic and social benefits of being able to recover quickly from natural disasters. Evan Reis, the Executive Director of the US Resiliency Council, will discuss how the natural resilience and durability of concrete can be promoted in an environment where our preparedness to face natural disasters continues to rise.

This concrete-industry event is sponsored by PCI Midwest, the Minnesota Concrete Council, the Aggregate & Ready Mix Association of Minnesota and the Minnesota Concrete & Masonry Contractors Association.

Please note that the location is the Sheraton Minneapolis West located by Ridgedale in Minnetona.