July 8, 2019 – During the recent Democratic debate, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper claimed that the worst polluter in CO2 is China, then the United States, and then it’s concrete and it’s exhalation. Experts like Jeremy Gregory, executive director of Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have demonstrated that statements like Hickenlooper’s do not provide a complete picture. In a recent piece by Gregory, he said, “Though a building’s materials and construction certainly matter, they account for, at most, 12% of its total lifetime greenhouse gas emissions in the cases that we analyzed. Instead, the majority of a building’s greenhouse gasses are due to its energy consumption.” Build with Strength – a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) consisting of community organizations, fire safety professionals, engineers, architects and industry experts – responded to Hickenlooper’s claim. “Concrete is tantamount to rebuilding and strengthening our nation’s infrastructure. The health of the American economy relies in part on the protection of the jobs and livelihoods of the men and women who work with in the concrete, construction and other associated industries. When politicians talk about impact, they often leave out an appropriate understanding of how far the industry has come in addressing sustainability, and how vital it is to our national interests,” said Kevin Lawlor, spokesperson for Build with Strength.
Statement About Concrete Is Not Quite True
