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Concrete has general properties, including versatility, resilience, durability, and relatively low cost, that make it the most widely used building material in the world. Architects, engineers, researchers, and concrete practitioners have immeasurable opportunities to incorporate sustainable development into their selection of materials for the manufacture of concrete. The immediate and direct connection between sustainable development and concrete materials includes efficient use of materials (conservation, substitution, reuse, repurposing, and recycling), materials life-cycle assessment, replacement materials (scarcity, resource availability, and materials economics), energy (materials to support alternative energy technologies, to mitigate problems with fossil-fuel technologies, and to increase energy efficiency), mitigation of undesirable environmental impacts from technology and economic growth (corrosion, pollution, and toxic waste), and water purification. Information is presented to assist in the development of practical knowledge and selection of materials used in concrete manufacture.

All materials have sustainable benefits and shortcomings, and concrete is no exception. This book is intended to provide the design and construction team with objective information on concrete’s characteristics—including its pros and cons related to sustainability—that the design/construction team can consider and use to meet the needs and requirements of building owners.

The concrete industry is working to reduce its carbon footprint, but despite the amount of work already accomplished, there is still much to do. In a significant step to help meet carbon reduction goals, the American Concrete Institute (ACI) has established a uniquely positioned center, NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete.