Governmental agencies - local, regional, and federal - are the primary purchasers of concrete materials within the United States and around the world. Therefore, governments are positioned to lead the way in procuring low embodied carbon concrete (LECC) systems, reducing the global impact of concrete on climate change. Despite rigorous scientific research showing many options for reducing concrete's embodied carbon below standard levels, many agencies in the United States are still specifying concrete using prescriptive approaches which support outdated, high embodied carbon mixtures. Procurement processes, lack of technical understanding, and a lack of will amongst specifying agencies are all barriers to implementation of LECC mixture design techniques. Join Dr. Matthew Adams as he discusses the current range of policy initiatives that have either been passed or are in process to encourage procurement of LECC, the difficulties experienced in their implementation, and the impact that the active policies have had on procurement across the United States. Further discussion will be presented on how the concrete research and engineering community can support these initiatives through technical expertise. Finally, Dr. Adams will discuss the current efforts of ACI 323 - Low Carbon Concrete Code Committee to develop model code language for low carbon concrete.
Dr. Matthew Adams is an associate professor and co-director of the materials and structures (MatSLab) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ. His research focuses on the sustainability, resiliency, and long-term durability of innovative cement-based materials. He also studies how governmental policies both support and hinder the adoption of sustainable practices in construction. He is a fellow of the American Concrete Institute, where he is currently chairman of ACI 323 Low Carbon Concrete Code Committee and member of several other committees; he is also a member of ASTM International where he chairs the Subcommittee on Testing for Strength of Concrete. Dr. Adams has received research funding from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New Jersey Department of Transportation, the American Concrete Institute Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Transportation. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire in 2006, and his Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees from Oregon State University in 2012 and 2015, respectively.
Date: Thursday, September 21, 2023, 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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