Rome's Pantheon proves concrete can be sustainable for over 2000 years. Present common practice in construction has a negative impact on the environment. Annual production of 5 Billion Ton of CO2 will increase to increasingly high proportions unless mindset shifts.

THE SUSTCON EPV INITIATIVE

Assists the market in evolving from volume to quality, doing more with less.

Benefits stakeholders who gain from a value added innovation approach.

FROM PRESCRIPTION

Many national standards impose minimum ingredient components that are supplier oriented. This discourages the concrete producer from using other environmentally friendly materials. Durability aspects are often related to these prescriptive regulations.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Concrete is the worlds most used construction material. It annually amount to 1.5 to 3 tons per capita in the industrialized countries. The environmental impact of concrete production is mainly governed by the individual impacts of Aggregates, Cement and Reinforcement.

Aggregates - Normally accounts for 70-75 % of its volume and therefore the environmental issues of aggregate production strongly influence concrete production.

Cement - Associated with large energy consumption and huge CO2 emissions.

Reinforcement - Concrete is often reinforced by means of steel bars whose production process relies on high energy consumption as well as important CO2 emissions. 

COST EFFICIENT

Regular cements are often half the material costs. Fluctuating qualities and poor monitoring results in wasteful over-design. Consensus based Standardization are costly long during processes. And, <<Only history can be certified (Michael Braungart).>>

TO PERFORMANCE

As with most modern products, SUSTCON EPV aims to qualify concrete not on HOW its produced but WHAT specifications need to be achieved*. The physical and chemical product properties related to durability are independently verified.

REDUCED

SUSTCON EPV facilitates the use of environmental friendly ingredients. Its environmental performance is quantified by the SUSTAINABILITY INDEX and a related QUALITY BRAND LABEL.

The position of the PPV methodology

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VALUE ADDED

Applying a well proven dynamic and credible methodology which accelerates the diffusion of innovative sustainable and cost effective technologies.

*EN 206-I Art 2.5.2.3 Equivalent concrete performance concept

NEXT GENERATION CONCRETE

PEOPLE:

NEXT GENERATION CONCRETE needs capacity building in the profession, from prescriber to installer and producer. It will attract better people for a better organization. This will lead to an increase of the overall image of concrete as a social responsible high-tech sustainable product.

Sustainable concrete whose environmental performance has been verified will positively reflect on all stakeholders in the value chain and is part of an integrated part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Most Supplementary Cementing Materials are cost effective. More advanced production methods lead to an overall higher efficient organization / production.