material or system, or of the building itself. Longevity and durability are critical considerations, since building once is the best way to reduce carbon intensity. LCCAs also factor in building strategies that improve resilience in the finished structure. Resilience is defined as a structure’s ability to recover after a disruptive event, and it can reduce future reconstruction costs as well as health and safety costs, and the costs associated with not being able to use the structure during rescue, recovery, and rebuilding. To quantify resiliency benefits, some LCCA tools include not only historical climate data but climate forecasts. These can inform resiliency objectives in terms of resistance to heat, precipitation, flooding, rising sea levels, and more. Cement and concrete suppliers have a role to play here, as well, helping achieve designs in which concrete lowers the energy burden for heating and cooling, for example, or calculating the benefits associated with lowered repair, replacement, or health and safety costs. Achieving net zero and other sustainability goals, especially considering the aggressive timelines for results by 2050 or even earlier, requires a multi-pronged approach on the part of everyone in the industry, from designers to suppliers to contractors to owners. It needs a holistic perspective that looks at the entire span of a system, from cradle to grave, and ideally back to cradle again, through reuse and recycling. A truly circular approach is what will ultimately enable realization of a net zero future.
Kristin Dispenza is a Senior Account Manager with Advancing Organizational Excellence, developing trends articles, case studies and other PR materials. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from The Ohio State University College of Engineering/School of Architecture and has more than 25 years of writing and editorial experience.
The CCUS facility in Edmonton will accommodate an absorber tower and a mile- long, 12-foot-diameter flue gas pipe that will connect the main plant to the CCUS operation. (image courtesy Heidelberg Materials North America)
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csengineermag.com
September 2023
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