Earth Day Celebrates 50th Year

April 22, 2020 Command Alkon

On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, the world will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. The annual event is revealed in more than 193 countries to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Each Earth Day has a theme for the day; this year’s theme is climate action – focusing on climate change. As the 50th Anniversary, more than one billion people will mobilize to participate in activities that include:

  • Citizen Science: One million global citizens will collect one billion data points to measure air and water quality. 
  • Advocacy: Civic engagement to work with local and national governments and corporate leaders.
  • Volunteering: The Great Global Cleanup will inspire schools and businesses to remove trash from their neighborhoods.
  • Education: Building literacy programs that focus on the environment.
  • Events: Thousands of rallies and activities will take place around the world.
  • Artists for the Earth: Personalizing climate change via art and a wider audience.

The construction industry has been focusing on greener practices to create structures that are environmentally responsible and more sustainable. The construction industry requires heavy machinery which uses large amounts of fossil fuels. Experts report that our industry “accounts for 36% of worldwide energy usage and 40% of C02 emissions. However, in the past decade, more and more “greener” products have been made available to lower fuel usage and reduce carbon emissions, including:

  • Building Information Modeling (BIM) – helps contractors visualize the construction throughout the lifecycle of the project; this helps reduce labor, time, and materials.
  • Alternate Power Sources – using solar power, or other renewable energy sources, instead of fossil fuel will help to lower carbon emissions.
  • Cool or Green Roofs – Reflecting the sun rays from specially colored times helps to lower inside temperatures. Green, living roofs are growing in popularity as a way to improve air quality, reduce energy usage, reduce stormwater runoff, and create a natural habitat that can include growing fruits, herbs, and vegetables. 
  • Green Concrete – Uses recycled concrete or waste materials to produce concrete. New forms of concrete can trap carbon dioxide to keep it from escaping into the environment. Other new concrete adds graphene to strengthen the concrete, which means construction sites need less concrete to build walls and floors.
  • Transportation Management – By planning, monitoring, and managing transport moves, less fuel is used, resulting in less CO2 emissions. Using Command Alkon’s visibility tools with telematics and transportation management, one aggregates company decreased its fleet size by 14%, helping to reduce carbon emissions and use less fuel. A system like this analyzes fuel usage and driver performance, monitors vehicle health, and identifies causes of non-productive time.
  • Remove paper-based processes to eliminate the use of paper, which reduces the number of trees needed to make paper. Command Alkon's Platform approach enables eBusiness, allowing companies to go paperless and enabling data access and collaboration all in one centralized location. 
  • Command Alkon's Optimization engine eliminates carbon emissions by reducing non-productive time in ready mix concrete fleets. When optimizing dispatch routes, efficiencies within fleet management allow producers to deliver materials in less time and with fewer assets.

So, let’s celebrate Earth Day by removing paper from our business processes, optimizing transportation, using more natural materials in building, and using alternative energy sources. If we all take responsibility to save the Earth, it will continue to be prosperous and productive for generations to come. 

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