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Building Construction Using Industrial Materials
Material-specific Information | Sample Contract Language & Project Specifications | Standard Specifications | Green Building Resources | Success Stories
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Material-specific Information
C2P2’s CCPs in Buildings
Provides information and guidance on finding and using CCPs in building applications, and includes links to related research, standards/specifications, and resources.
Sample Contract Language and Project Specifications
Federal Construction Guide for Specifiers 
EPA collaborated with the Federal Environmental Executive and the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) to develop this guide to address the need for a comprehensive guide for procuring green building products and construction services within the Federal government.
California Integrated Waste Management Board's Designing With Vision
Technical Manual for Material Choices in Sustainable Construction
Scroll down to view publication in 4 parts (Word). See pages 27-32; includes good introductory language, examples, and references to other materials.
King County Vashon Transfer/Recycling Station's Sample Technical Specifications
Includes specifications with a fly ash concrete requirement and link to the sustainable materials specification review report.
Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance's Green Construction Brochure (PDF) (2 pp, 68K)
Includes good overview on selecting green building materials and some basic sample specification language.
Standard Specifications
American Society for Testing and Materials
ASTM International is a voluntary standards development organization. ASTM has over 130 technical committees covering diverse industry areas ranging from metals to the environment. The technical committees are made up of professionals from around the world who develop ASTM standards. The Standard/Annual Book of ASTM Standards is composed of over 80 volumes and contains ASTM’s 12,000 plus standards.
The following ASTM Committees develop standards related to using recycled industrial materials:
- ASTM Committee C01 Cement develops specifications, test methods, recommended practices, and terminology for hydraulic cements including portland, natural, pozzolanic, masonry and slag cements, and modifications and combinations during manufacture of the cements; and investigates the properties of hydraulic cements and promotes the improvement and uniformity of testing these materials.
- ASTM Committee C09 Concrete and Concrete Aggregates has jurisdiction over 160 standards published in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Volume 04.02. These standards, together with the standards developed by ASTM Committee C01 on Cement and committees of the American Concrete Institute, are essential to the construction of civil infrastructure.
- ASTM Committee C11 Gypsum and Related Building MaterialSystems develops specifications, test methods, and applications in the gypsum and related product industries.
- ASTM Committee D04 Road and Paving Materials has jurisdiction over 200 standards, published in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Volume 4. These standards are essential to the construction and maintenance of highways, and other transportation construction.
- ASTM Committee C12 Mortars and Grouts for Unit Masonry has jurisdiction of 15 standards, published in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Volume 04.05. These standards are essential to the industry of mortar used with masonry units, including burned clay, shale, sand-lime, concrete and stone.
- ASTM Committee E50 Environmental Assessment, Risk Management and Corrective Action has jurisdiction over 35 standards published in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Volume 11.04. These standards are essential to corrective action, pollution prevention and beneficial use.
- ASTM Committee D34 Waste Management has jurisdiction over 125 standards published in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Volume 11.04. These standards are essential to all aspects addressing the generation, storage, transportation, treatment, recovery, and disposal of wastes generated from industrial, commercial, residential, and institutional sources.
The ACI is a non-profit technical and educational society that serves as a forum for discussing and resolving issues related to concrete through conventions and meetings; the ACI Structural Journal, the ACI Materials Journal, Concrete International, and technical publications; chapter activities; and technical committee work.
The following ACI Committees address efforts to using recycled industrial materials:
- ACI Committee 232 Fly Ash and Natural Pozzolans in Concrete develops and reports information on the use of fly ash and natural pozzolans in concrete and mortar, including developing guidance on the use of higher volume fly ash concrete for the Green Building and industry performance guide specification; and works with the U.S. Green Building Council and others to promote sustainability as it relates to concrete.
- ACI Committee 233 Ground Slag in Concrete develops and reports information on the use of ground slag in concrete and mortar.
- ACI Committee 234 Silica Fume develops and reports information on the use of silica fume in concrete and mortar.
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA)
Cement Specifications |
Concrete Specifications |
Other Specifications |
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ASTM C 595, "Standard Specification for Blended Hydraulic Cements." |
ASTM C 618, "Standard Specification for Fly Ash and Raw or Calcined Natural Pozzolan for Use as a Mineral Admixture in Portland Cement Concrete." |
ASTM E 1266-88. Standards Practice for Processing Mixtures of Lime, Fly Ash, and Heavy Metal Waste in Structural Fills and Other Construction Applications |
ASTM C 150, "Standard Specification for Portland Cement." |
ASTM C 311, "Standard Methods of Sampling and Testing Fly Ash and Natural Pozzolans for Use as a Mineral Admixture in Portland Cement Concrete." |
ASTM E 2277-03. Standard Guide for Use of Coal Combustion By-Products in Structural Fills |
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ASTM C 989, "Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag for Use in Concrete Mortars." |
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ACI 226.R1, "Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag as a Cementitious Constituent in Concrete." |
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ACI 232.2R. “Use of Fly Ash in Concrete.” |
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Green Building Resources
EPA Green Buildings Website
Brings together a collection of EPA programs that relate to green building.
Whole Building Design Guide
The WBDG is a web-based portal providing government and industry practitioners with one-stop access to up-to-date information on a wide range of building-related guidance, criteria and technology from a 'whole buildings' perspective. Currently organized into three major categories—Design Guidance, Project Management and Operations and Maintenance—at the heart of the WBDG are Resource Pages, brief summaries on particular topics.
DOE High Performance Buildings
Link to information about whole-building design, including costs and benefits; tools such as design guidelines, software, and brochures; and information about high performance building technologies such as methods, materials and equipment.
U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.
Green Globes
The Green Globes system, developed by the Green Building Initiative, is a green management tool that includes an assessment protocol, rating system and guide for integrating environmentally friendly design into commercial buildings. Once complete, it also is expected to facilitate recognition of the project through third-party verification. The Green Building Initiative is a non-profit organization that promotes practical green building approaches for residential and commercial construction.
Healthy Building Network’s Pharos Project
The Healthy Building Network is a national network of green building professionals, environmental and health activists, socially responsible investment advocates and others who are interested in promoting healthier building materials as a means of improving public health and preserving the global environment. The Pharos Project strives to make building material evaluations as comprehensive as possible encompassing health, sustainability and social justice issues throughout the lifecycle. To facilitate this vision, the project:
- proposes a framework of analysis based upon a set of categories, such as occupant exposure, renewable materials;
- identifies an ideal goal in each category; and
- establishes criteria for evaluating progress toward the ideal.
