Webcor senior sustainability Director Sarah Rege and Concrete senior construction Manager Owen Brizgys shared the why and the state of efforts to reduce concrete's embodied carbon.
At a recent lunch-and-learn hosted at Contra Costa County offices in Martinez, senior sustainability Director Sarah Rege and Webcor Concrete senior construction Manager Owen Brizgys shared the why and the state of efforts to reduce concrete's embodied carbon.
The Contra Costa County Administration Building (CCCAB) project earned TRUE Gold and LEED Platinum status, among other honors, for its green features focused on the Circular Economy. The session enabled Webcor to further solidify our sustainability leadership with the county.
Sarah and Owen began by emphasizing the importance of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for measuring and understanding a product's environmental impact. While using EPDs doesn't immediately translate to carbon reductions, it raises awareness and encourages suppliers to explore lower-carbon methods and materials.
One major challenge raised was "silo space" at local concrete batch plants. Typically, a plant keeps three silos: one for cement, one for fly ash, and one for slag. Adding a fourth silo for new low-carbon materials can be difficult due to real estate constraints and local permitting barriers.
By encouraging investments in additional silo capacity -- and by requiring weighted average GWP limits and EPDs in future project specifications -- local governments can help drive the adoption of innovative, lower-carbon mixes. This collaborative approach has the potential to benefit both the construction industry and the broader community by reducing the embedded carbon in buildings across the region.
The first renovated restroom at Oakland Airport opened on Tuesday, February 11. The men's restroom is adjacent to Gate 3 in Terminal 1.
The $40 million restroom renovation project is Webcor's first at Oakland Airport. The project, which began in June 2024, could take until 2028 to complete. It has four phases and 12 restrooms. The first phase includes three restrooms in Terminal 1 at Gates 3, 4, and 7.
The renovated restrooms were designed to be innovative, functional, and visually appealing. They feature modern technology and a range of other upgrades, including...
"Today’s opening marks the first of many to come for our Terminal Restroom Renovation Program,” said Port of Oakland Director of Aviation Craig Simon. “We hope that passengers flying OAK enjoy the new and refreshed look of our restroom facilities. We look forward to more openings throughout 2025."
When Project Manager Adrienne Filley realized Construction Inclusion Week (CIW) was coming up, she saw a perfect opportunity to organize an event championing one of her favorite facets of community engagement: local workforce development.
On the final day of CIW, the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) Behavioral Health Services Center (SCVMC) team hosted a site tour for students at New Valley High School, a Santa Clara-based continuation school designed to feed Bay Area trade schools.
Although it was treated as a CIW activity, the significance of community engagement doesn’t end there. Whether visiting a local MC3 program, volunteering as an ACE Mentor, or hosting a job site tour, Webcorians’ involvement in local workforce development has never been more critical to the future of our industry.
“From a business standpoint, these site tours give us early exposure to the students who will one day join our workforce,” Adrienne says. “It’s a chance to build connections with promising young talent while inspiring kids who might not have otherwise considered careers in construction. Sharing rewarding, valuable opportunities with underserved populations is an endeavor that’s well worth our time.”
The day of the tour, Superintendent Justin Schmitt, Safety Manager Phil Nunez, and SCVMC BHSC trade partners kicked off the morning with doughnuts and discussion. They dove into it all: Potential construction career paths, the skills they’d need to succeed, and an overview of a typical day on the job before opening it up to questions.
“I loved hearing the wide range of interest in the students’ career choices,” Phil says. “I shared my experience as a union carpenter who eventually transitioned to the safety side, as well as my current responsibilities as a safety manager at SCVMC BHSC."
After the presentation, Assistant Superintendents Eileen Deasy and Evan To co-led a detailed tour of SCVMC BHSC before wrapping up the day with a group lunch. The goal was to introduce students to the various work activities and scale involved with building a structure from the ground-up in real time, Adrienne says.
“This type of exposure goes a long way in inspiring students to broaden their horizons,” she says. “They asked really great questions and shared insightful perspectives. It was so rewarding to see their smiles and excitement and hear the teachers’ positive feedback after the tour!”
Phil’s no stranger to leading these types of student-centered site tours. As someone deeply concerned about the industry’s labor shortage, he’s committed to educating the next generation about the many career paths construction has to offer.
“More and more experienced tradespeople are retiring, so it’s crucial that we excite and motivate young people to consider pursuing the trades,” he says. “Investing in the future starts with sharing our experiences and passion for this work. I’ve led four site tours with different affiliates that help guide students’ career development, and it’s always a gratifying experience.”
SCVMC BHSC’s site tour was also an important opportunity to expose New Valley HS’s female students to a construction team filled with women.
“It helped demonstrate that construction’s a field that will welcome and value them as contributors and leaders,” Adrienne says. “All the students learned that it takes many people, all working on different tasks, to deliver an entire structure.”
