[CORRECT ZOOM LINK] Blockheads: Decarbonizing Concrete through Building Code Reform - with Matthew P. Adams, PhD

Please find the correct zoom link for today’s webinar below:

ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP

The International Building Code (IBC) is the comprehensive set of construction and design standards that serves as the foundation for most local and state building codes in the United States. Several sections of the IBC pertain to concrete, its material composition and use. The American Concrete Institute (ACI) is the lead promulgator of new concrete codes and code revisions in the IBC.

In November 2024, ACI published ACI Code 323-24: Low Carbon Concrete - Code Requirements and Commentary. This 29-page document provides minimum requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing concrete mixtures for jurisdictions where such reductions are required or recommended.

The release of Code 323-24 represents a potential watershed moment for concrete decarbonization policies and programs, given the weight and influence of ACI code revisions. In this workshop, we welcome Matthew P. Adams, PhD, who led the collaborative process to promulgate Code 323-24. Dr. Adams will provide an overview of the code’s core components and offer perspective on the potential impact. Our discussion will include an exploration of the role of advocacy to accelerate its adoption in 2025 and beyond.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

​Matthew P. Adams, PhD is the current chair of the American Concrete Institute’s Committee on Recycled Materials in Concrete, a role in which he served as the lead author of ACI Code 323-24. An associate professor and co-director of the materials and structures (MatSLab) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Dr. Adams’ research focuses on the sustainability, resiliency, and long-term durability of innovative cement-based materials.

In 2020, Dr. Adams was named a Richard P. Nathan Policy fellow at the Rockefeller Institute for Government. As a fellow he studied how governmental policy both supports and hinders the adoption of sustainable practices in construction. Dr. Adams has received research funding from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New Jersey Department of Transportation, the American Concrete Institute Foundation, and the US Department of Transportation.

ABOUT BLOCKHEADS

Blockheads is an advocacy initiative jointly led by the Citizens Climate Lobby Greenhouse Gas Removal Action Team (GGREAT) and the OpenAir Collective. Its mission is to promote awareness of and mobilize grassroots participation in local and state advocacy efforts to accelerate the decarbonization of concrete. Blockheads hosts bi-weekly Wednesday workshops focused on educate and activism.