The Intrinsically Green

The science of sustainable building reveals green design within the concrete's gray hues. Concrete has recently been recognized as environmentally-mindful because its inherent properties make it an ideal building material. With energy-saving, temperature-regulating high thermal mass and low emissions content, concrete isn't just for foundations anymore. Sustainable architecture is bringing it indoors.

Every floor has a concrete base, and today's advanced grind-and-polish technology makes it possible-and beautiful-to dematerialize by exposing this fundamentally necessary construction material. Polished concrete flooring reduces lighting and temperature-control energy consumption while improving LEED-recognized indoor air quality. It is locally available, low-maintenance, and never requires additional products to be manufactured or transported, so the verdict is clear: polished concrete flooring is an intrinsically green building material.

Concrete is an essential bedrock element to every building and regardless of the project-- whether new construction or a remodel— it is not going anywhere. "Since the concrete is already there…and if not putting anything over it means energy, labor, and resource savings, why not use it?" questions Kim Patten of Chicago's Ross Barney Architects. Patten, a Project Manager whose firm utilizes polished concrete flooring for both its environmental and aesthetic benefits, continues, "Sustainability is huge… [Our architects] design everything with sustainability and a natural approach in design." Kim also points out that the energy embodied in a product should be considered; adding any extra material to a project results in greater expenditures and environmental stressors such as harvesting, manufacturing, refining and transporting another product to the job site. Finishing the floor by simply polishing the existing concrete material avoids these stressors while substantially decreasing the environmental footprint of the project, and saves on everything from natural resources to the pollution and costs associated with shipping.

In addition to aiding green design in new construction, concrete flooring is one of the simplest, cost-effective, and environmentally-sound flooring applications to maintain for the short and the long term. Day to day maintenance requires no harsh chemicals or equipment, and refurbishing is as simple as a repolish every five to eight years. The grind and polish finish is extremely sustainable because the slab can be repolished to restore to original shine without needing any other material. There is never any use of hazardous materials or processes that could affect the rivers, lakes, and oceans of the earth's environment. Just as natural stone co-exists with other elements in nature and remains virtually unchanged, concrete can last as long as the building stands; "As long as there is a floor it can look like the day it was poured," emphasizes Dave Padgett, owner of Tennessee-based concrete polishing contractor Perfect Polish, "it is one of the most sustainable products out there, and it has extreme longevity." Industry expert Peter Wagner explains further in an article entitled A Concrete Floor is a Renewable Resource, writing, "By replacing the floor covering with polished concrete, you are short-circuiting the vicious cycle that is caused by the higher life-cycle cost... The breakeven point for investing in polished concrete, with or without color, is on average only one to two years, and that comes without the additional costs of tear-up, removal and preparation…" Typically, replacing an existing floor covering would consist of the material being disposed of and probably transported to a landfill, resulting in a great deal of waste, energy, and expense.

The benefits of polished concrete as a sustainable building material have recently been recognized by top retail chains.  Office Depot's Director of Environmental Strategy Yalmaz Siddiqui explains,. "Building green is a key component to Office Depot's environmental strategy. There are a number of benefits to green building, including indoor air quality, overall reduction of a building's environmental footprint and energy efficiency. The polished concrete featured in Office Depot's retail stores…addresses all of these pieces." Senior Director of Construction Jim Cornwell, concurs,"Office Depot has an environmental vision to increasingly buy green, be green and sell green. As part of being green, we have developed a number of environmentally preferable initiatives that are integrated within our construction efforts. Many of these initiatives…have been implemented throughout our entire footprint, helping the Company increase our energy efficiency and reduce costs. Another example of our ‘green' efforts in our retail stores is the presence of polished concrete rather than carpet or another material."

The retail sector is not alone; the government is, in fact, the largest supporter of environmentally-responsible building in both public and private projects. According to An Engineer's Guide to Building Green with Concrete, "The U.S. government is adopting green building programs similar to LEED through the General Services Administration (which owns or leases more than 8300 buildings), the U.S. Army, the Department of State, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Eight states including California, New York, Oregon, and Washington have adopted its use for public buildings. Many agencies are requiring LEED silver certification as a minimum… Concrete can be used in conjunction with the LEED program to earn certification." Tax credits, grants and LEED certifications are used to incentivize or, in some regions, to legislate, green building practices, and the strategies appear to be working. A memorandum issued by the LEED 2009 Steering Committee discloses that, as of May 1, 2008, 3.5+ billion square feet of building projects (or 10,000+ individual projects) have registered intent to seek certification with dozens more signing up every day. The use of polished concrete flooring aides in LEED certification because by eliminating the need for potentially corruptive applications, such as carpets or tiles, it improves indoor air quality. The lack of adhesives and VOC equals better indoor air quality. Drew Walters of general contractor Bulley and Andrews, a company familiar with concrete polishing says, "Polished concrete does not have the VOC organic content that causes the new building scent. From a VOC standpoint there aren't as many compounds in the air, which helps with LEED certification."

As rigorous standards of sustainability continue to rise and the construction industry's quest for environmentally-responsibility continues, finding affordable, sustainable building products will become a necessity for new construction, additions, renovations and remodels. Natural, durable and beautiful polished concrete flooring is sure to become a widely-used application, and though it may be wrapped in a gray package, polished concrete flooring is an inherently green solution.