Trade Journals for the Concrete Industry

Access to natural resources has historically been a key for human development. Water in the ancient world, steal and coal during the industrial revolution and rare materials in the electronic era are only some examples of the prominent role that securing such supply brings to the ones controlling them. In parallel, steady and affordable access to raw materials is frequently mentioned as one of the key concerns for business managers, together with currency exchange and securing the financing of the enterprise. Concrete plays a key role in the modern society. It is the 2nd most used material after water in the world and its polyvalence and availability fulfils the modern society needs (social and environmental) in terms of living, working and transportation works. Like every other substance in the world, concrete is made of raw materials that are processed and transformed to obtain the final product. Compared to other substances, concrete constituents have the main advantage of being locally available in such large quantities that their availability for future generations is not an issue. Despite this fact, the concrete industry is actively involved throughout Europe for increasing the use of secondary raw materials with the objective of obtaining similar or even better performances. This involvement is aimed at reducing the already small resource footprint and at absorbing construction and demolition (C&D) wastes that would be otherwise landfilled.