Speakers Highlight Green Concrete at "Green Matters"
March 02, 2012 at 4:25 PM
Last week's Concrete Decor Show featured a subconference, the "Green Matters Conference." This conference was highlighted by experts from several industry groups and companies.
The keynote speaker was David Shepherd, AIA, the Portland Cement Association's (PCA) Director of Sustainable Development, who spoke on green building market trends and concrete contributions to sustainability.
I hosted a panel discussion entitled "Why Green Materials Matter: Balancing Sustainability, Performance and Economy." Panel members included experts representing concrete contractors, ready mixed concrete producers, and cement suppliers:
- Ward Malisch, Ph.D., P.E. - American Society of Concrete Contractors
- Sean Van Delist - Tex Mix Concrete
- Larry Rowland - Lehigh Cement Company
- David Shepherd, AIA - Portland Cement Association
CCT also sponsored PCA's Stephen Szoke, PCA's Director of Codes and Standards, to discuss how the industry was working with the International Building Code organization to integrate resilience into sustainable construction. Steve is pushing the IBC to incorporate resilience concepts into the International Green Construction Code. You can download his presentation or read more about the importance of building in resilience in PCA's report "Protecting Lives and Property: Making Green Buildings Resilient." information report. You can also view some of my thoughts on this important topic in a previous blog.
Other seminar presentations of note were:
- Ward Malisch - Effects of "green concrete" on concrete contractors.
- Vance Pool of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association - Concrete Environmental solutions: cooling and stormwater management benefits.
- Larry Rowland - A Concrete solution to green building
Jan Prusinski
Jan is the executive director of the Cement Council of Texas. He can be contacted at jprusinski@cementx.org or 817-540-4437.
