Using slag to achieve LEED points

by James J. Dolente, Jr., president, Madison Concrete Construction

Madison Concrete used slag cement on the Comcast Center project to achieve LEED points

Madison Concrete used slag cement on the Comcast Center project to achieve LEED points

There is no doubt that using slag cement in projects is good for the environment, good for industry image and may help your company save or earn money. In our September e-blast, we addressed “Being Green While Generating Green.” However, using recycled materials goes beyond helping with industry image and serving as a smart financial business move.

Using cement and concrete products, including slag cement, in construction can help achieve Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) points. This is noteworthy because architects and owners are increasingly requiring that LEED points be attained, especially on larger projects and those that may receive some public funding. Slag cement can replace between 20 percent and 80 percent of portland cement in concrete and can help complete all or part of 10 points in the LEED-NC system.

High-volume substitution with slag cement dramatically reduces embodied energy and greenhouse emissions in concrete, points out the Slag Cement Association. For example, SCA says that a 50-percent substitution of slag for portland cement in a typical ready mixed concrete batch can save 34 percent of embodied energy (560,000 btu) and 46 percent of embodied CO2 emissions (248 lbs.) per cubic yard.

The new 7 World Trade Center building, the first major building constructed in the lower Manhattan Financial District since 9/11, achieved LEED Gold-certified status, with slag cement replacing 40 percent of the portland cement in the concrete core.

Our work on the Comcast Center used slag cement to attain LEED points. Standing 975 feet tall, the Comcast Center is the tallest building between New York and Chicago. This structure achieved LEED Gold Certification under the LEED Core and Shell Pilot Program by the U.S. Green Building Council and uses 40 percent less water than characteristic office buildings of this size

Other notable projects on which we’ve used slag cement include the Revel Casino, One Riverside Apartments, 1919 Market St. Apartments, 1601 Vine St. and the FMC Tower.

We’d love to hear about how you earned points for LEED projects you’ve worked on and as well as how we may use ourexperience from these type of projects to work with you.

 

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