Ozinga Ready Mix Concrete proves ideal partner as Facebook operator applies artificial intelligence to low-carbon mix designs The spotlight on buildings’ life cycle carbon dioxide emissions is driving recognition of Environmental Product Declaration-defined Product, Construction Process, Use and End-of-Life Stage benchmarks. After methodically lowering the Use Stage CO2 factor for its 14 operational, energy-intensive data centers in North America, Silicon…
Read MoreSources: New Buildings Institute, Portland, Ore.; CP staff The most recent New Buildings Institute (NBI) report offers language to incorporate embodied carbon requirements in codes, and explains the need for jurisdictions to address such criteria for materials or products with the highest carbon dioxide emissions factors. “Lifecycle GHG Impacts in Building Codes” presents potential CO2 benchmarks or thresholds for ready mixed…
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San Diego concrete materials and reinforcement fiber specialist Surface Tech has completed the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) validation for Juno C33, an advanced alternative supplementary cementitious/fine aggregate material (SCM). The EPD serves as a transparent, objective report detailing what a product is made of and how it impacts the environment across its entire life cycle. The independently verified and registered…
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With data from 155 producers operating 1,954 plants, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association has published a third version of its industry average or industry-wide environmental product declaration (IW-EPD). The document functions as a national proxy for the bulk of concrete in residential, commercial and public construction, and complies with the latest Product Category Rule for Concrete, released earlier this year.
Read MoreSources: Slag Cement Association (SCA), Farmington Hills, Mich.
SCA has posted for free download a calculator with which concrete producers can quantify and interpret cradle-to-gate life cycle assessments (LCA) reflecting the environmental impact of mixtures with and without slag cement. Calculations are based on the industry-average Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for ready mixed concrete that incorporates industry-average EPDs for slag cement and portland cement in the United States. The calculator also allows users to evaluate how different concrete mixtures affect whole building impacts based on a typical case study project.
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The second version of the NRMCA Industry-Wide (IW) Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and Benchmark (Industry Average) Report discloses production impacts of 72 concrete mixes with 2,500–8,000 psi design strength, covering the bulk of product used in residential, commercial and public construction. The updated IW EPD is prepared from 88 producers operating 2,500 ready mixed plants, and includes a wide range of mix designs for each strength class, from 100 percent portland cement mixes to those with 50-plus percent fly ash or slag cement factor.
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Vulcan Materials has published North America’s first self-declared Environmental Product Declaration for aggregates. The document provides data for four primarily concrete-grade fine and coarse aggregates, plus eight other grades best suited to base, drainage and asphalt from the producer’s Pleasanton, Calif., quarry.
Sources: CP staff; Vulcan Materials Co., Birmingham, Ala.
Vulcan Materials has published North America’s first self-declared Environmental Product Declaration for aggregates. The document provides data for four primarily concrete-grade fine and coarse aggregates, plus eight other grades best suited to base, drainage and asphalt from the producer’s Pleasanton, Calif., quarry.
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The first of two phases in the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s development of a standard Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)—aimed at assisting ready mixed producers on projects where customers target certification under the new LEED v4 green building rating system—has produced a survey report and list of participating companies and plants.
Read MoreSources: ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.; Slag Cement Association (SCA), Farmington Hills, Mich.; CP staff
ASTM and SCA-developed Product Category Rules (PCR) will support customers seeking to issue an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for slag cement concrete or mortar, especially on green building projects where specifications stipulate or incentivize disclosure of raw material processing methods and chemical content.
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