Environment and Sustainability Blog Posts for the Concrete and Construction Materials Industries

Envision a concrete plant - the most environmentally perfect concrete plant in the world. What's it like?

This past week, I was involved in an environmental regulation situation where it seemed like I was dealing with chicken little - the sky is falling! While no one likes environmental regulations, they are here to stay. But are they getting worse, are things falling apart - is the sky truly falling?

Check out the article below. It's insightful, and not an isolated incident. In fact, I think it's the wave of the future.

What does "green marketing" have to do with the Yellow Pages, and how can you use this green strategy to stay out of the red?

The other day, I was reading a magazine from 2007 dealing with an area of personal interest outside of the concrete, asphalt or mining industries. In it was an article about environmental issues of the day. As I read it, I couldn't help but think - how little environmental issues had changed and progress made in the past 5 years - a span of time during which we've seen some pretty significant changes in our lives.

At this time of year, we all start thinking about the things we can do to make next year better than the previous one. While getting in shape or reducing debt are admirable goals, how about setting some environmental or sustainability goals for your plant or company?

I recently finished teaching the NRMCA Environmental Certification Course, which was held in Orlando Florida. It was a great course, with bright interested students, stimulating discussions, and a great field trip to conduct a comprehensive inspection of a ready mixed concrete plant.

Sustainability practices and EPDs - what do they mean? When it comes to Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), a great analogy is with the food we buy.

I've covered the topic of "washout" on a jobsite before (see the article I wrote entitled "Jobsite Washout or Chute Rinseoff") - there should be no "washout" on a jobsite! Washout generally means (in concrete terms) the washing out of the interior of the back of a concrete mixer truck. This shouldn't, and usually doesn't, happen at a jobsite.

SPCC plans - do you have one if you need one? I hope you do know what a Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan is, because the clock that has been ticking so long is about to run out. The deadline in question is the November 10, 2011 deadline that has been delayed for so long (years actually).