Sustainability, more than just a trend
At this time of year, the entire staff of BFT International does a lot of traveling – visiting trade shows, meeting with customers and business partners. Recently I was in the German city of Cologne one day, on the next in the Dutch city of Utrecht, and after that in Berlin. In Cologne, on the way to an appointment, a sign caught my eye – “concrete bling,” it said. In the shop window, jewelry made of concrete was on display for the fashion-conscious urbanite. In Utrecht, I spent the time between three appointments in the “Bar Beton,” a pub with a striking concrete bar.
When it comes to lifestyle, concrete plays a natural role. Our gray construction material is regarded as chic and people love to have it around them.
The topic of sustainability is another story. Here, many prefer other construction materials over concrete, completely misjudging and disregarding its many advantages.
The Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC), whose German branch was just recently launched in Berlin – the last stop on my short round trip – now wants to close this knowledge gap. But the efforts of the CSC go far beyond mere image correction. The key CSC objective here is to document the sustainability of this construction material with a certification system for cement and concrete structures that is recognized worldwide – something that is already now required in many countries.
Since the kickoff event for the German branch of the CSC took place shortly before the publication of this issue; you will find a detailed report on it in the upcoming 6/2018 issue of BFT International.
