Master Builders Solutions has formed a Concrete Sustainability Group aimed at positioning the admixture giant as a go-to knowledge provider for low embodied carbon concrete. The group will focus on fostering effective collaboration among architects, engineers, producers, and contractors to ensure successful outcomes of projects with low-embodied carbon concrete requirements. The company has tapped Director of Sustainability Dr. Charles Nmai,…
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CTS Cement helps EPA-backed Hydrova prove aluminum recycling
The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a $400,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program Phase II grant enabling Santa Ana, Calif.-based Hydrova Inc. to advance work on black dross—a material frequently landfilled after primary aluminum recycling—for applications including cement clinker raw feed. Themed “Complete Resource Recovery and Hydrogen Production from Secondary Aluminum Processing Waste,” the grant extends a $100,000 Phase…
Read MorePatio Drummond commercializes CarbiCrete block, CO2 metrics in tow
CarbiCrete, Montreal developer of a process where slag cement and carbon dioxide replace portland cement and steam in concrete masonry unit mixes and curing, has taken a critical step in commercialization thanks to its charter North American producer, Quebec-based Patio Drummond. After extensive testing and trials, the concrete hardscapes producer has begun selling CarbiCrete block directly from its Drummondville plant…
Read MoreEPA, Commerce, Energy, FHWA officials empower Carbon Neutral Summit
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Federal Highway Administration and National Institute of Standards and Technology representatives offered and compiled takeaways as participants in the first Summit on Accelerating Carbon Neutral Concrete Materials and Technologies. NEU: An American Concrete Institute Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete hosted the early-fall event to engage public and private construction stakeholders…
Read MoreTop architect’s specs hospitable to low-carbon Holcim US mixes
Holcim US proves the potential of its ECOPact concrete to align with the low-carbon metrics project principals envision for the recently topped out Populus, a 13-story hotel that high profile architect Studio Gang has tailored for a triangular Denver site. The producer teamed with the architect, Denver developer Urban Villages, and general contractor Beck Group on a superstructure concrete schedule…
Read MoreTech giants embrace carbon-optimized concrete for data centers
In “Greener Concrete for Data Centers,” an open letter posted at https://climateaccord.org, iMasons Climate Accord leaders Amazon Web Services, Google, Meta Platforms and Microsoft implore their industry to work together to a) Deliver a technology roadmap to decarbonize concrete; b) Set standard carbon dioxide emissions measurement baselines to measure against; c) Drive transparency through Environmental Product Declarations; and, d) Create…
Read MoreLafarge Canada shifts 4Refuel renewable diesel program inland
Sources: Lafarge Canada Inc., Calgary; CP staff After a successful demonstration in British Columbia concrete operations, Lafarge Canada is extending to its Manitoba fleet the use of renewable diesel from waste oil and fats processor 4Refuel. The migration from petroleum diesel equates to lower carbon dioxide emissions tracked in material deliveries. “Switching to renewable diesel (R50) is a significant step…
Read MoreStartup C60 leverages technology to optimize business operations
The pressure is on for concrete producers. Demand is high, especially with the passing of the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, but the market is more challenging than ever. Construction costs rose 14.1 percent year over year by the end of 2022, according to CBRE’s Construction Cost Index. Recruiting skilled labor continues to be difficult as many industry veterans…
Read MoreSuperior Block turns to Big Apple towers as CarbonCure process CO2 sources
Brooklyn-based Glenwood Mason Supply Company Inc., a concrete masonry unit producer equipped to deploy CarbonCure Technologies’ carbon dioxide mineralizing process, will source “Sustainable CO” extracted from New York City apartment buildings’ mechanical system flue exhaust. After a 2022 pilot installation at The Grand Tier (1930 Broadway), Glenwood Property Management (unaffiliated with the producer) plans Q1 deployment of modular CarbonQuest Building…
Read MoreA new portal for Buy Clean era
We are into a second decade of covering ready mixed and manufactured concrete producer response to construction market catalysts driving Environmental Product Declaration preparation and submittals: The Architecture 2030 Challenge (2012), compelling proof of lower embodied carbon materials or products in project specifications, and the U.S. Green Building Council LEED v4 standard (2014-16), the first broad-based mechanism incentivizing suppliers, producers…
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