An holistic approach to a sustainable future in concrete construction

The main challenge for concrete industry is to serve the two major needs of human society, the protection of the environment, on one hand, and - on the other - the requirements of buildings and infrastructures by the world growing population. In the past, concrete industry has satisfied these needs well. However, for a variety of reasons the situation has changed dramatically in the last years. First of all, the concrete industry is the largest consumer of natural resources. Secondly, Portland cement, the binder of modern concrete mixtures, is not as environmentally friendly. The world's cement production, in fact, contributes to the earth's atmosphere about 7% of the total CO2 emissions, CO2 being one of the primary greenhouse gases responsible for global warming and climate change. As a consequence, concrete industry in the future has to face two antithetically needs. In other words, how the concrete industry can feed the growing population needs being - at the same time - sustainable? Sustainability in construction industry can be achieved through three different main routes based on the "3R - Green Strategy": Reduction in consumption of gross energy for construction materials production, Reduction in polluting emissions and Reduction in consuming not renewable natural resources.