SESSION 34: CLIMATE SMART CONCRETE

• ​Technical Session

  • Data-Driven Discovery of Alternative Binders for Climate-Smart Concrete

    • Soroush Mahjoubi, Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    • This talk presents a data-driven pathway to cut carbon footprint tied to energy-intensive clinker by expanding the palette of clinker substitutes drawn from both secondary wastes and natural rocks. We combined large-scale, large language model-based literature mining, extracting chemical compositions and types for ~14k materials from ~88k papers—with a machine learning model that predicts unified reactivity metrics (heat release, Ca(OH)₂ consumption) from chemistry, particle size, and density. We then mapped reactivity across different material types, including construction and demolition wastes, municipal solid waste incinerator ashes, glasses, biomass ashes, mine tailings, and natural rocks, identifying abundant reactive volcanic and sedimentary materials along the East and West Coasts of the United States. Subject to performance constraints, current supply suggests substituting roughly half of global cement with waste streams—an estimated ~3% reduction in global GHGs, comparable to taking ~260 million U.S. vehicles off the road. The framework is plug-and-play with mix design optimization pipelines and can be integrated into supply chain decision tools.

    • Soroush Mahjoubi is a Postdoctoral Associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working with the Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) and Olivetti Group. His research focuses on decarbonizing the U.S. concrete industry by integrating materials informatics and machine learning to discover raw and secondary cementitious materials, optimize mix designs, and support informed supply chain decision-making. During his Ph.D., Soroush developed AI-guided methods to design sustainable, high-performance, fiber-reinforced cementitious materials.

• Product Spotlight - Heidelberg Materials

  • Concrete Steps to Net Zero: Practical Strategies for Low Carbon Construction

    • Shane Mulligan, Sustainability Market Manager, Heidelberg Materials

    • As the concrete industry accelerates toward net zero, practical collaboration across the value chain is more critical than ever. This session will outline real-world lessons learned in specifying and delivering low carbon concrete from early design through construction. Heidelberg Materials will unpack how designers, contractors, and suppliers can align at key project stages to meet carbon targets without compromising performance. Drawing from industry best practices and resources in the United States and Canada, the presentation will highlight the role of carbon budgeting and how Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are evolving to support transparency. Attendees will gain insight into the shifting landscape of cement and cementing materials, and emerging tools that support better decision-making.

    • Shane Mulligan, P.Eng., LEED Green Associate is the Sustainability Market Manager for Heidelberg Materials, where he is responsible for all aspects of sustainable sales and marketing efforts in North America. This includes working with architects, engineers, and designers towards lower carbon, sustainable solutions in the built environment. He has over 20 years of experience in a variety of civil engineering sectors including the technical promotion of cement and concrete products, structural design of underground infrastructure, waste diversion planning, and stormwater management.

• Product Spotlight - American Society of Concrete Contractors

• • ASCC Sustainability & Low Carbon Concrete Efforts

    • ​Mike Hernandez, PE, FACI, Technical Director, American Society of Concrete Contractors

    • The concrete contracting community is an important partner in the path to carbon neutrality and the implementation of performance specifications. There are many initiatives that ASCC has undertaken to help move the industry forward in these areas in addition to other avenues of technical excellence. These activities will be discussed.

    • Mike is Chair of ACI Committee 131 Building Information Modeling, a member of ACI Committees 90-07 TAC Productivity and Constructability, 130 Sustainability of Concrete, 134, Concrete Constructability, 207 Mass and Thermally Controlled Concrete, 302, Construction of Concrete Floors, 305, Hot Weather Concreting, 308, Curing Concrete, 347, Formwork for Concrete, E703, Concrete Construction Practice, C640 Craftsman Certification and Joint ACI-ASCC Committees 117, Tolerances, and 310, Decorative Concrete. Hernandez holds an MBA from the University of Florida, an MSCE and BENVD from the University of Colorado, and was a Mechanical Engineering Major at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a licensed P.E. in Florida and Colorado, and a Certified General Contractor in Florida. He is also a U.S. Green Building Council, LEED Green Associate and a Design Build Certified Professional. As the ASCC Technical Director, Mike oversees the operations and services for the technical content of the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC), Decorative Concrete Council (DCC), and Concrete Polishing Council (CPC).