ACI Foundation Joins Major Industry Partnership to Advance Low-Carbon Construction Codes
In a significant move toward sustainable construction practices, the ACI Foundation has announced a strategic partnership with several leading industry organizations to fund the “CURE – Code Updates for Reduction of Embodied-Carbon” research project. This initiative aims to modernize construction codes to prioritize the reduction of embodied carbon without compromising structural safety.
The collaboration brings together a coalition of heavyweight organizations, including the Charles Pankow Foundation (CPF), the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA), the Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA) Foundation, and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute (SEI).
Targeting Code Updates for Sustainability
The primary objective of the CURE project is to identify and prioritize design provisions within current codes and standards that can be modified to lower embodied carbon. The research will specifically examine widely utilized documents such as ASCE/SEI 7, ACI CODE-318, and the AISC specification.
Led by the Charles Pankow Foundation, the project seeks to create a comprehensive “road map” for potential modifications and further study. The goal is to pinpoint areas where changes can be made to reduce environmental impact while maintaining the rigorous safety standards essential to the industry.
Industry Leaders at the Helm
The project is being spearheaded by Principal Investigator Abbie Liel, a Clark Endowed Faculty Fellow at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Co-Principal Investigator Ian McFarlane, Senior Principal at Magnusson Klemencic Associates. They are supported by a committee of 10 additional members comprising practicing structural engineers and academics.
“Reducing embodied carbon in the built environment requires collaboration across materials, disciplines, and codes,” said Ann Masek, Executive Director of the ACI Foundation. “The ACI Foundation is proud to support this forward-looking initiative that will inform future updates to existing codes and standards and accelerate the industry’s progress toward a more sustainable future.”
A Broader Commitment to Sustainability
This partnership underscores a growing trend in the industry to bridge the gap between engineering disciplines and material science for the sake of sustainability. The announcement follows other recent green initiatives by the American Concrete Institute (ACI), including the 2024 release of ACI CODE-323-24: Low-Carbon Concrete – Code Requirements and Commentary, and the inclusion of a new sustainability appendix in the recently released ACI CODE-318-25.
Phase 1 of the CURE effort, initially announced in June, has already made progress in developing a list of provisions for potential revision and establishing a monitoring system for connecting codes and standards.
For professionals in the materials testing and construction sectors, these developments signal potential upcoming changes to testing standards and compliance requirements as the industry shifts toward a lower-carbon future.