Integration of Concrete Sustainability Information as Part of the BIM Process

Sustainability objectives for concrete require that EPD data for each raw material be assembled into a digital twin model of the mix design. This is typically accomplished by manually accumulating the data and creating a document using a manual consulting approach. These manual documents are static PDFs and make it difficult to share the data with other models and for producers to quickly produce new mix designs and EPDs. Processes have now been created in the concrete industry which allow a concrete producer to assemble not only EPD documents for a project, but to also utilize EPD values to assist in the selection of concrete mix designs that will have the lowest global warming potential, or other environmental factors. As sustainability data is increasingly computerized, gaps in the sustainability modeling process become apparent. One of these gaps is the lack of standards on how to accumulate and share this data. As BIM models improve, this data will be able to be incorporated in a comprehensive environmental footprint for a project.