March 12, 2010

DUFFERIN CONCRETE

Concrete plants and products are increasingly being certified as eco-friendly as demand from owners and architects grows.

FEATURE | Concrete/Masonry

Going green makes green sense for Ready Mixers as demand grows

DON PROCTER

correspondent

Taking green-friendly design seriously is smart business for member plants of the Ready Mixed Concrete Association of Ontario (RMCAO) these days.

As of Jan. 1, 2013, the association will require all plants to comply with the standards of its ECO Certified Concrete Facility program.

To obtain certification, plants must meet high standards on energy conservation, emissions controls, water conservation and recycling. How plants use such supplementary cementing materials (SCMs), such as slag and flyash, is also part of the certification process.

The first of its kind in the ready mixed concrete world in North America, the program was developed in 2008 because of an increasing demand from builders to buy green materials from eco-friendly manufacturers, says John Hull, president of the RMCAO. Dufferin Concrete, a division of Holcim Canada Inc., was among the first plants to certify. Lafarge Canada Inc. also saw the merits and has met the certification requirements for a number of its plants in the province.

For both companies, it was a sound business decision because sustainable development is the wave of the future.

Both also see it as an important socially responsible decision. Nick Caccavella, senior vice-president, Holcim Canada, adds some customers are already specifying on some projects that concrete be supplied by ECO Certified plants. “It goes to show that they are not just becoming aware but are also opting for more sustainable construction solutions.”

Certification is also smart for plants because it provides additional value for the LEED certification program and other environmentally certified projects, adds Tom Baumgarten, Lafarge’s director of environment and public affairs .

“In the long term, the program will drive improvements in environmental/sustainability performance among RMCAO members and should allow ECO-certified producers to differentiate themselves from those producers who have chosen not to certify,” Baumgarten points out.

For now the certification is voluntary, driven by the growing market demand. Structural engineer Carruthers & Wallace is an example of a company that specifies concrete producers it works with meet the RMCAO’s ECO certification process, says Hull.

He adds that making the certification mandatory by 2013 is important because “we want to take this industry up the (environmental) ladder by several rungs.”

To qualify for certification, plants must obtain a minimum number of points (like the LEED certification process) in five categories, including water efficiency, materials and resources, energy and atmosphere, innovation and design, as well as sustainable location.

Prior to applying for certification, plants must have a certification of approvals (CoA) from the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), which covers such plant issues as air and water quality, as well as noise. It can take a plant up to two years to meet the CoA. Assessments of the facility are done by a third-party environmental engineer, says Hull, adding that it can cost a plant as much as $20,000-$25,000.

Baumgarten says the application process requires that contaminant emissions (typically dust and mono-nitrogen oxides for a ready mix concrete facility) be evaluated using the MOE’s air dispersion modelling protocol. Noise emissions, in some instances, must also be evaluated using an appropriate model to meet the ministry’s noise guidelines.

While concrete manufacturers will have no choice but to comply — or lose work — Hull says plants should also consider doing it because it is socially responsible.

The RMCAO’s certification program is now being made available to all provincial ready mixed concrete associations.

While green-friendly concrete products are often thought to simply have a high recycled material content, new concrete products are green friendly in other ways.

Take consolidating concrete. Because it requires minimal finishing, placement is much less of a noise issue than conventional concrete, Hull points out.

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