{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Decarb Connect","title":"Rethinking Infrastructure: Decarbonization Through Durability ","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1989,"description":"Rethinking Infrastructure: Decarbonization Through DurabilityHost: Alex Cameron, Founder & CEO, Decarb Connect Guest: Eric Van Genderen, Director of Environment, Health & Sustainability, International Zinc AssociationIndustrial co2 efforts tend to focus on fuels, technologies, and process change, yet a major source of avoidable emissions sits in plain sight: premature infrastructure failure. Roads, bridges, and wastewater systems that corrode decades earlier than planned lock in repeated cycles of repairs that are both carbon and capital-intensive. In this episode, we explore why durability is emerging as a critical lever in reducing lifetime emissions, and how smarter material choices can reshape the economics and carbon profile of long-life assets.Eric Van Genderen from the International Zinc Association makes the case that we're systematically miscounting the carbon cost of infrastructure by ignoring what happens when it fails early. The fix isn't new technology. Galvanised steel has been a proven solution for nearly a century. What's broken is the decision-making model where federal governments fund construction and municipalities inherit the replacement bill decades later, with no mechanism connecting upfront material choices to long-term carbon or cost outcomes.What you'll take away:Why adding 1–2% to upfront project costs can double infrastructure lifespan — and what that means for lifecycle carbon accountingThe Champlain Bridge as a case study: designed for 50 years, replaced at 30, and why its replacement is now rated for 100+A new metric worth knowing: decarbonisation potential measured in tonnes of CO₂ avoided per tonne of zinc installed Why the federal/municipal funding split is structurally blocking smarter material specificationWhere insurers fit in and why they're an emerging pressure point for longer-life assetsWhy legislation and building codes, not voluntary owner decisions, are the realistic lever for changeShow Links: Connect to Eric Van...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/_9GeME1kV9EnV5AFiNgh-W6WzssGxLsyLV4wkXt7Kno/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzEyNzQ0LzE1OTYy/MTA4NzAtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}