Hard to believe that someone in the concrete industry of all places would have a social conscience in addition to well-honed business acumen, but that is indeed the spirit in which the EcoCreto company’s founders operate. New Ventures’ Sara Standish interviewed Nestor de Buen about his company recently and he had this to say about his motivations:

“When someone invites me to talk about EcoCreto, I spend most of my time talking about the water problem, because it’s what really scares me. I think of my sons and daughters and the kind of country they are going to have if we don’t take action.”

Nestor is here referring to the water problem plaguing his hometown of Mexico City, which I discussed in a previous post on EcoCreto. Sinking water tables below the surface of the city cause roads to crack and buildings to fall inward- the EcoCreto solution is permeable concrete that absorbs rainfall and sends it back to regional aquifers.

Sara’s Rising Ventures piece is worth a read for some insight into one of the more unexpected but potentially revolutionary inventions in recent memory. Clouds looming over DC are threatening rain today, and it reminds of the last time it really rained hard in this city, flooding the IRS, the EPA and my apartment building. If we had had EcoCreto at our disposal, that would have just been more tap water in the ground.