CONCRETE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The first signs of global warming caused by the greenhouse effect are now apparent. In the near future, a new evaluation of building materia ls in light of their ability to fulfill the requirements of sustainabl e development will be required In this paper; the energy consumption a nd greenhouse gas emissions of concrete in residential buildings will be examined, taking into consideration production and operational phas es, as well as traffic-induced energy consumption and emissions in res idential areas. The massiveness of concrete buildings causes significa nt energy and emission savings compared to buildings comprised of ligh ter materials. This improves the ecological balance of concrete and li fts it to the group of building materials which burden the environment least.