September 14, 2006

Green Building

Overcoming barriers to supplementary materials use

DAN O’REILLY

correspondent

TORONTO

While the ready-mix concrete industry uses a high percentage of supplementary materials, some experts say there are barriers to increasing volume.

One of Canada’s foremost experts on cement and supplementary materials, Doug Hooton, said volume is affected because some government agencies and private sector firms stipulate ingredient specifications rather than performance specifications in their contract documents.

A member of several cement and concrete industry committees, the University of Toronto civil engineering professor’s work has included researching the performance of cement and supplementary cement materials such as fly ash, slag and silica fume, as well as the permeability properties of concrete.

As a keynote speaker at this year’s Toronto Regional Green Building Festival in Toronto Oct. 31-Nov. 1, Hooton will talk about the importance of using supplementary recycled materials, such as fly ash and granulated blast furnace slag, in the production of concrete and decreasing the use of Portland cement.

“For every kilogram of cement manufactured, 0.8 kilograms of CO2 emissions are released and it takes between 200 to 400 kilograms of cement to make one cubic metre of concrete,” he says.

Hooton is a 2003 recipient of the ASTM International Award of Merit, the society’s highest award granted to an individual member for distinguished service and outstanding participation in committee activities.

The voluntary standards organization develops and produces technical standards for materials, products, systems and services.

“Professor Hooton is a recognized expert by the cement and concrete industries throughout North America,” says Wayne Dawson, vice president of the Cement Association of Canada Ontario Region.

“When the industry has a major issue or problem to solve, Professor Hooton is often the individual approached to find a solution. He also sits on most, if not all, of the CSA committees dealing with cement and concrete — helping to ensure that Canadians get a quality and consistent product,” says Dawson.

The CSA Ontario Region arranged for Hooton’s talk as part of its sponsorship of the building festival, says business development director Teresa Sarkesian.

“We were a gold sponsor last year and will be a gold sponsor this year. We believe the festival is a good vehicle for transmitting the message the cement and concrete industries are environmentally sustainable industries.”

Hooton is a just one of several prominent representatives from industry and academia who will be speaking during the two-day event.

Some of the other speakers include Peter Halsall, president of Halsall Associates Limited; Andrew Bowerbank, manager of sustainable development for the Toronto Conservation and Region Authority; and Bruce Kuwabara, founding partner of Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects .

“We’ve increased representation from the construction and design industries from last year,” says Anthony Watanabe, president The Innovolve Group, the strategic marketing firm managing the show.

This year’s theme of Transformation Via Integration represents the growing trend to design, develop and finance green building projects, says Watanabe.

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