Sustainability and durability of concrete in large infrastructure projects of rijkswaterstaat (The Netherlands)

Abstract

Nowadays sustainability is one of the main focuses of attention in the concrete industry in the Netherlands. Concrete is a structural material of which the total environmental impact per cubic meter is limited compared to other types of structural building materials. However, the total CO2-emissions resulting from concrete production are relatively large, because of the vast amount of concrete produced yearly. Within Rijkswaterstaat projects, CO2- emission of concrete is 8% of the total CO2-emission of the used building materials. Rijkswaterstaat has created an active policy on the use of ‘sustainable and durable’ concrete. The policy focusses on five targets to increase the sustainability of concrete structures:, Creating concrete with a low environmental impact, High quality recycling of concrete, Adaptation of the building process, Circular economy, Longer life of concrete structures In the article these five targets are presented in relation to their impact on sustainability and durability of concrete. The quality and the service life time of the concrete are important parameters. The method of Rijkswaterstaat to address this is by using ‘EMVI criteria’ (economically most valuable tender) for sustainable purchase of structures. Via the EMVI criteria, market participants are challenged to make more sustainable choices, within the projects. In this way, within project “Zeeweringen” almost 30% of the CO2-emission could be reduced by optimizing the production process and by reducing the amount of concrete in the revetment blocks. Rijkswaterstaat actively supports such projects and in that way the use of ‘sustainable and durable’ concrete.