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EDG News: Free news and advice for design professionals
PRO 31
Concrete and Sustainability – Supporting Environmentally Responsible Decision Making
Dominique Hes and Margaret Bates
Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world with many architectural and engineering benefits, but also with a high capacity to improve its environmental performance.
The environmental measures that can be taken also improve the performance and durability of concrete, so it can be a win-win situation. One way of increasing durability and performance of concrete is by substituting a portion of the Portland cement with industrial by-products such as slag, fly ash or silica fume. The use of recycled aggregate is another way of reducing the environmental impact of concrete.