Motivation
In 2020, many countries, including the EU and Japan, declared their commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. This movement has gained momentum, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 100 countries now involved. Despite the significant CO2 emissions of the concrete sector, concrete remains an essential material for human prosperity. To achieve sustainability goals, the world will require concrete structures with minimal CO2 emissions in the near future. Clients and taxpayers may begin to demand that designers, constructors, and owners quantify the CO2 emissions of their projects properly. In this context, the fib must be prepared to lead the change in the structural concrete community. It is essential that the fib shares its knowledge and provides proper methodological approaches to enable a reliable assessment of the environmental impact of concrete structures.
Scope and objective of technical work
To achieve its goal, the SAG will focus on three objectives:
- Establishing a comprehensive database of environmental impact data for structural materials used in concrete structures. The SAG will prioritize data related to the construction stage, but will also develop a strategy to manage data from the operational and maintenance stages, as well as the dismission stage. The data platform will need to be continuously maintained by collecting new data and updating existing data, with a focus on different lifecycle stages in different geographical areas. The SAG will source this data from manufacturers, designers, associations, and other institutions.
- Defining a reliable methodological approach to support designers in quantifying the environmental impact of concrete structure projects. The methodology will be based on LCA principles and focus on the requirements and performance of structures. The approach will be easily implementable and usable in the design process, with a common set of indicators and proper metrics established to compare data and allow for the definition of benchmarks. The methodology may also identify a Product Category Rule, according to the ISO 14000 series, to enable designers to produce EPDs for individual concrete structures.
- Identifying the best tools and knowledge to guide the decision-making process towards optimal structural solutions in terms of environmental impact while still satisfying expected structural and functional performances. The SAG will suggest proper optimization strategies and procedures and identify best practices for different structures, in various market conditions and geographical areas.
Commission Chair
Deputy Chair
 |
 |
| First name | Last name | Country | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domenico | Asprone | Italy | University of Naples Federico II |
| David | Fernández-Ordóñez | Switzerland | fib |
