Change they say, is the only thing permanent, ironically enough... and development, it has been said, is a good kind of change.

It has also been said, that its the worst thing to have happened to a lot of good places.

Whichever way you look at it, development seems to be, much like change, quite inevitable. New technology, new conveniences, smart homes, smart work places. The building spree around the world continues, with more houses, more hotels and more offices being added to the count everyday.

With the advent of the awareness of global warning, and dire warnings from eco-summits and scientists, a wave of environmental consciousness seems to have pervaded some industries the world over. The more savvy businesses have begun to start a trend where environmental consciousness has actually become not just an altruistic, but also a profitable notion.

With pressure from environmentalists the world over, property businesses including hotels have been increasingly recognising the need to change their practices and policies, with a view to projecting and inculcating a more eco-friendly profile, especially as tourism and investment trends turn towards this new thinking.

At the Australian Chamber of Commerce meeting held in Phuket in October 2007, Andrew Mercer, Managing Director, Boral Thailand Concrete & Quarries gave a well-received seminar with focus on 'Green Building' in Thailand.

Recognising the potential for greenhouse gas abatement in the design and operation of buildings, there have been efforts in many countries to promote improvement by adoption of green building rating systems, explained Mercer during the seminar. Australia and New Zealand have the Green Star rating systems which allocates points t a range of energy conservation and sustainability features related to design, construction and operation of buildings. Points are scored in 7 categories (Management, Indoor Environmental Quality, Energy, Transport, Water, Materials, Land Use and Ecology, Pollution) and additional points are available for innovation. The Green Star rating is determined by comparing the overall score with the rating scale: Four Star is considered Best Practice, Five Star: Australian Excellence and Six Star: World Leader.

Boral was involved in the construction of Australia's first Six Star rated public building, in the city of Melbourne. Boral worked with the builder of the Council House 2 (CH2) office, to achieve the maximum three points available to be awarded where it is demonstrated that the concrete used in the buildimng construction or refurbishment hs a significant recycled content. Precast concrete elements were produced using Boral concrete containing:

 cement that was produced using more than 40% waste energy substitutes
 more than 40% of the cement replaced by flaysh and slag substitutes
 100% byproduct substitute or recycled fine and coarse aggregates
 100% recycled water

Mercer went on to describe the benefits of using Green Concrete.

Concrete is a mixture of cement, crushed stone, sand, water and some chemical admixtures. Cement is the major greenhouse gas contributer in concrete production. Cement production, Mercer informed his audience, creates between 1 and 2% of globa CO2 generated. For Thailand, as a significant exporter of cement, the figure would be much higher.

What Boral does, is substitute a portion of the cement in their mixes with other supplementary cementitious materials; a technically well-recognised approach. Substitution of natural aggregates with industrial by products and recycled materials is not as common in Thailand as it is in other parts of the world, Mercer stipulated.

The Phuket Post contacted Andrew Mercer to gain more information on how Boral Thailand's intention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by use of supplementary cementitious materials in concrete

“The construction phase of any building creates environmental impacts.”said Mercer. “Production of building materials raises greenhouse gas emission issues as well as other more immediately obvious environmental sustainability issues. Green concrete can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from concrete production by 40%, simply by use of supplementary cementitous materials.

“In some cases it is also possible to reduced the amount of materials used if lightweight concrete is substituted for normal concrete. And there is potential for recycling of concrete, which is a resource sustainability measure. Finally there is the opportunity to run the concrete production plant in a way that minimizes adverse environmental impacts on air and water quality and noise and traffic annoyance in the area.”

Mercer stated that the operation of buildings can benefit from the properties of concrete, if it is well designed and used in a building, by reducing energy usage over the whole life of a building, as well as by reducing the impacts of environmental annoyance like noise.

“Boral is a building and construction materials supplier based in Australia, with a strategy to grow in Asia and USA.” said Mercer in reply to a question about Boral's 'green' commitment in Thailand in particular. “Boral acquired control of the business in Thailand which had previously operated as Pioneer Concrete and Hanson Concrete. Boral aims to deliver ‘better living solutions’ to it’s customers.

“Most of Boral’s concrete in Thailand is “Green” to the extent that we attempt to optimize the use of substitute cementitous materials in making our concrete. This is because the production of cement is one of the biggest contributors to production of greenhouse gasses after the power generating industry and motor vehicles. The CO2 is generated from both combustion of coal or gas, and from the release of CO2 from limestone when it is turned into cement. There are both environmental and technical benefits which can arise from the supplementary cementitous materials.

“Supplementary cementitous materials have gained acceptance and respect because of the technical properties they add to concrete as well as the cost saving opportunities they can provide,” explained Mercer. “Flyash is the main cement substitute used in Thailand. It is a waste byproduct that comes from the production of electricity in a coal fired power station. It is cheaper in many parts of Thailand than cement.”

For more information, visit www.boral.com.au or email: callcentre@concrete.co.th