Ansatz zur Quantifizierung der Nachhaltigkeit von Beton auf der Baustoffebene

A method for the quantification of the sustainability of concrete on the material level. Guaranteeing a high level of sustainability is of special societal importance in civil engineering, on account of the immense investment costs and environmental actions associated with the erection and use of engineering structures and the high demands placed on their lifetime. Sustainable construction is fundamentally characterized by the principle that the ratio between the usefulness of structures to society in relation to the energy and resources consumption resulting from their erection, use and demolition is maximized. Especially in the case of infrastructure construction, this is only possible when the committed building materials demonstrate a high level of performance and durability and – this is the key – when these properties are exploited optimally by the planner. In light of this recog nition, the paper at hand describes possibilities and methods for how the sustainability of the building material concrete – the production of which is responsible for a great portion of global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions – can be significantly improved. Green concretes – concretes with strongly reduced cement content – are used as an example of how the sustainability of building materials is affected not only by their environmental impact, but also by their performance and durability. For this purpose a new indicator, the Concrete Sustainability Potential, is introduced, with which the potential for a sustainable use of concrete can be estimated. The application of this indicator is demonstrated here by an example.