RESEARCH

With a growing interest in sustainability, the construction industry is looking for solutions to help reduce its carbon footprint. The Portland Cement Association’s newly released Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality lays out the cement and concrete industry’s commitment to a lower carbon future. With its proven performance, portland-limestone cement, or PLC, is ready to play a key role, yet many designers and specifiers don’t know about it. This program will explain what PLCs are, how to use them, and their effects on fresh and hardened concrete properties. Several examples of PLC projects in the U.S. over the past decade will show how others have used it successfully.  The presenter will be Jamie Farny (Portland Cement Association).

Now in its second year, the Sustainable Structures Webinar Series was developed cooperatively in 2021 by cast-in-place and precast concrete associations from the Midwest region of the United States including Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The goal of the cooperative effort is to bring a greater awareness of the sustainable and resilient nature of concrete building systems to the design, construction, and development communities via quality continuing education programs.

Using recent data and ongoing surveys by the Minneapolis Fed, Ron Wirtz (Regionial Outreach Director at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis) will discuss the speed and breadth of recovery in the construction sector and broader Minnesota economy, and role of labor force on economic growth going forward. Using an interactive survey, Ron will also gauge sentiment among event attendees regarding recent business activity, hiring demand, labor and wage trends, and the short-term economic outlook. 

This webinar was developed cooperatively by concrete-related associations representing Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri.  The goal of the cooperative effort is to bring a greater awareness of concrete to the design and construction communities via quality continuing education programs.

Concrete is used in nearly every structure we build today, including buildings, bridges, homes and infrastructure. With greater emphasis placed on sustainability, design professionals are faced with the challenge of meeting traditional design criteria with evolving criteria that support green building and efforts to reduce impact on climate change. Performance-based specifications for concrete represent an important synergy with sustainability initiatives because they provide the opportunity to optimize mixtures for performance that can also reduce environmental impacts. Prescriptive specifications often adversely impact the environmental footprint of concrete structures. This presentation outlines how concrete performance can be improved while lowering environmental footprint by implementing performance-based specifications.  Donn Thompson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C from the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association will be the presenter.

Now in its second year, the Sustainable Structures Webinar Series was developed cooperatively in 2021 by cast-in-place and precast concrete associations from the Midwest region of the United States including Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The goal of the cooperative effort is to bring a greater awareness of the sustainable and resilient nature of concrete building systems to the design, construction, and development communities via quality continuing education programs.