Last week at the request of NRMCA Producer member Dolese Bros. Co., Senior Director, Building Innovations, Donn Thompson, AIA, visited Oklahoma University in Norman to present to students at the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture. The topic, Environmental Impact of Concrete, Wood, and Steel, dispelled the myths that have inaccurately favored wood materials over other competitive products. The presentation relies, in part, on objective findings contained in a report jointly published by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and the US Green Building Council, (USGBC), two organizations advocating for more sustainable building practices in light of past assumptions that ignored important aspects of lumber harvesting, forestry practices and carbon storage implications. They are now calling for greater transparency and accuracy in findings about wood's environmental impacts.
The goal of the presentation was to leave students recognizing that there is little difference among the environmental impacts of concrete, wood and steel over the full service life of structures. Making material choices for projects of all types should be based on objectively assessing available materials based on accurate, unbiased information, Thompson said.
“It’s about finding the best fit and then optimizing that choice to provide the best long-term performance for the project,” he told the students.
A copy of the RMI/USGBC publication Driving Action on Embodied Carbon in Buildings can be downloaded here. For more information, contact Donn Thompson at dthompson@nrmca.org.
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association