A sustainable value proposition for industrial sites
Concrete is foundational to modern society. From ancient landmarks like the Roman Colosseum to the towering Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest building) to patios in suburban backyards, concrete’s versatility and durability have made it indispensable in construction. Today, it’s the second-most consumed material on Earth, surpassed only by fresh water. Yet, as essential as concrete is, its production—specifically the manufacture of portland cement—poses significant environmental challenges due to carbon emissions.
The construction industry now faces a critical task: Innovate to reduce concrete’s carbon footprint while preserving its unmatched value. One promising solution lies in concrete pavements, particularly for industrial sites like ports and distribution facilities. These sprawling developments play a pivotal role in global commerce, connecting consumers to the goods they rely on daily. Decision-makers must prioritize sustainable approaches to these essential spaces.
This article explores how concrete pavements, when engineered with sustainability in mind, provide an unparalleled value proposition. By selecting the right materials, embracing life cycle analysis, and recognizing concrete’s long-term economic benefits, developers can achieve both environmental responsibility and financial viability. From reducing embodied carbon through innovative mix designs to leveraging concrete’s inherent durability and recyclability, this discussion will show why concrete pavements are the smart choice for industrial infrastructure.

PICKING THE RIGHT STUFF
What does it mean to pick the right stuff? It means making intelligent decisions regarding the selection of concrete mixtures and the ingredients that concrete is comprised of. Concrete in use today isn’t your grandfather’s variety. It is a highly technical and sophisticated mixture of raw materials, chemicals, and recycled products.
Through the combination of chemical admixtures and recycled products, or Supplementary Cementous Materials (SCMs for short), we can substantially lower the embodied carbon content of concrete. Fly ash, the byproduct of coal combustion, and slag, the byproduct of steel production, are the two main SCMs applicable to concrete pavements. Both are waste products that get a second life when utilized in concrete.
Lowering embodied carbon is accomplished by reducing the ingredient that gives concrete its strength: portland cement, whose production is widely recognized as a source of approximately 7-8 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. That number stands to rise as emerging economies continue to develop. By incorporating SCMs, we can replace approximately 25-50 percent of the portland cement in concrete mixtures without having to sacrifice strength or quality of the finished product. In applications like pavements, SCMs are a perfect solution to reduce the carbon factor from the outset.
Additionally, the use of chemical agents, namely water reducing admixtures (WRAs for short), allow for the reduction in consumption of fresh water by weight. Fresh water treatment requires energy, which is generated from fossil fuels. Less fresh water consumption equals less energy consumption, thus lowering carbon emissions.
These measures are a crucial component to reducing the embodied carbon of concrete and the concrete pavement carbon impact. Among pavement materials, they are exclusive to concrete; by contrast, asphalt is impossible to produce without direct incorporation of fossil fuel compounds.

LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS
The current evaluation method for accessing the sustainability of concrete, and concrete pavements, is incomplete and leaves much to be desired. A principal evaluation tool, LCA, can best be described as follows:
Life cycle assessment is a method within the field of industrial ecology that can be generally applied to industrial systems. LCA comprehensively quantifies and evaluates the material and energy flows of such a system. These materials and flows are inventoried throughout the “life cycle” of the product and/or service that comprises the system, including upstream (raw material extraction, processing, transportation, and construction), use (reuse and recycling), and downstream (deconstruction and disposal) flows. (Loijos, MIT, June 2011).
Simply put, LCA sees the whole picture. Alternative evaluation methods fail to consider the upstream and downstream impacts. What this means for concrete pavements is that they are inherently undervalued.
While the manufacturing of raw materials in mix designs and the production of the concrete itself are, on the surface, more carbon intensive than alternative pavement materials, the longevity of a rigid slab makes concrete more sustainable in the long term. Concrete will outlast alternative pavements by a conservative estimate of 2:1. Meaning, in the life span of one concrete pavement application (let’s conservatively estimate 20 years of useful life, though actual service potential is likely 30-40 years), alternative pavement materials would have to be reconstructed at least twice, if not three times. That means double to triple the costs in terms of carbon and real dollars.
The inherent rigid nature of concrete pavements also impacts energy efficiency during the “use” phase of the life cycle. Concrete pavement stiffness means minimal deflection or depression. Consequently, a properly engineered slab will hold up tremendously well under heavy loads, like tractor trailers and other large vehicles. The result is better fuel efficiency as the vehicle does not have to work as hard to move. It’s the difference between running on sand verses running on a concrete slab. You’re carrying the same load, but one requires significantly more output and energy to move forward.
Additionally, concrete at the end of its useful life is 100 percent recyclable. The concrete is crushed down and used as a subbase for multiple applications—local roads, highways, industrial warehouse floors, and industrial site pavements to name a few.
The LCA evaluation method takes all factors into consideration and shows that concrete pavements are the more practical, durable and sustainable pavement solution.
ECONOMIC BENEFITS
As a fan of political theater, I have grown fond of the great James Carville and his elegant turn of phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid!” Truer words have never been spoken when referencing a paving job. Setting aside the sustainability and longevity benefits discussed previously, concrete pavements are just flat-out more economically viable.
It boils down to two simple statements: “You get what you pay for” and “You can pay now or pay later.”
The misconception that concrete pavements are not economically viable is commonplace. Unfortunately, this holds true with some pavements, but only in their current form. By and large, current practices for concrete pavements produce overdesigned and needlessly reinforced end products. They are set up for compromise or failure from the design phase, a problem easily corrected with proper guidance.
First, concrete pavements are capable of withstanding tremendous compressive loads in relatively thin sections. According to the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s (NRMCA) Design Assistance Program, established to guide engineers to optimal slab solutions, concrete pavements ranging from 6-7 inches thick can withstand 55-250 tractor trailer loadings per day. This is contrary to the assumption that such slabs need to be at least 8 inches thick to be effective. A 1- to 2-inch thickness reduction will save facility owners or developers a substantial amount of money in material costs when extrapolated over hundreds of thousands of square feet.
Second, concrete pavements can be constructed without reinforcement. Plain concrete pavements are perfectly capable of providing consistent long-term performance without costly steel reinforcement.
Lastly, due to their rigid properties, concrete pavements can be constructed on poorer-quality subbase materials. This means that developers or owners can realize performance from their pavements with a cheaper, lesser quality import material and consume less of it. Concrete pavements allow for more unsuitable soils to remain on site, undisturbed, with no adverse impacts on long-term pavement performance. This means fewer man, equipment and trucking hours, and lower environmental impacts associated with earth moving requirements.
In concrete paving, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. When you consider the upstream and downstream impacts on sustainability, longevity, and value engineered design, concrete is the clear choice for those seeking a value-added pavement solution.
Jake Ables is director of Concrete Promotion for Silvi Materials, Fairless Hills, Pa., and an NRMCA Promotion Committee member. Silvi Materials has ready mixed operations in eastern Pennsylvania and across New Jersey. Along with sister businesses, it supplies cement and aggregates to customers in those markets, plus Delaware, Maryland and New York.