ASHRAE, ICC open building life cycle emissions draft standard to comment

Sources: ASHRAE, Atlanta; CP staff ASHRAE and the International Code Council invite comment to their jointly development document, Proposed ASHRAE/ICC Standard 240P – Quantification of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Buildings, through March 18. The draft of the standard can be obtained and comments portal accessed here. Standard 240P will provide a methodology to quantify the embodied and operational GHG…

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Materials, manufactured concrete groups challenge FHWA GHG yardstick

Sources: National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.; CP staff In a letter to U.S. House and Senate members, 14 associations representing construction materials, products and downstream interests question the Federal Highway Administration’s authority to proceed with a greenhouse gas performance measure on projects the agency funds. Their argument traces the absence of a legal basis for a November 2023 FHWA…

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Department of Energy supports Cat C13 hydrogen-hybrid R&D

With partial U.S. Department of Energy backing, Caterpillar Inc. has launched a three-year project to demonstrate an advanced hydrogen-hybrid power solution built on its new C13D engine platform. The company aims to prove how advanced control systems and electric-hybrid components can help hydrogen fueled engines meet or exceed traditional diesel engines’ power density and transient performance. Caterpillar will serve as…

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California producers’ carbon volley

Two years of major gestures surrounding greenhouse gas emissions in cement and concrete production or procurement solidify California’s reputation for incubating policy. In October 2021, the California State Senate passed SB 596, charting a regulatory course for Golden State cement producers to attain net-zero carbon operations by 2045. The California Nevada Cement Association concurrently published an SB 596 action plan,…

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Empire State sets Clean Concrete procurement and EPD submittal terms

Beginning in January 2025, concrete producers will be required to provide environmental product declarations for New York State agency project deliveries above $1 million and 50 yards, or NYS Department of Transportation work above $3 million and 200 yards. Under just-adopted Buy Clean Concrete guidelines, producers will also need to demonstrate that their mix materials exhibit environmental impact below certain…

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EPA opens $100 million grant program for construction material EPDs

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; CP staff The Environmental Protection Agency is accepting through January 8 applications for grants under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-funded Reducing Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Construction Materials and Products program. Budgeted at $100 million, it will support a) businesses that process or manufacture, remanufacture or refurbish construction materials or products in development and verification…

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Governor binds New York agencies to “Clean Concrete” mandate 

Sources: Office of New York Governor Kathy Hochul; CP staff Concrete suppliers will soon be required to submit environmental product declarations for mixes delivered to New York State agency projects above $1 million and requiring 50 or more yards, or NYS Department of Transportation work above $3 million and requiring 200 or more yards. Under just-adopted Buy Clean Concrete guidelines…

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California cement producers chart carbon neutrality goal progress

Thirty months out from releasing “Achieving Carbon Neutrality in the California Cement Industry,” California Nevada Cement Association (CNCA) producers report considerable progress on related public policy, material processing and market development measures toward their 2045 goal: “We are committed to continuing progress to reach net zero emissions for all cement producers in California, hopefully sooner than our projected date of…

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Study: Policy actions key to carbon-neutral pavements by 2050

A new study by MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) researchers shows that the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of all construction materials used in the U.S. pavement network are 11.9-13.3 megatons, equivalent to the output of a gasoline-fueled passenger vehicle logging 30 billion miles. As roads are built, repaved, and expanded, new approaches and thoughtful material choices are necessary to…

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Cement plants over-represented in EPA Energy Star Industrial Program

The 86 facilities recognized in the Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Industrial Program—10 cement plants in eight states among them—are credited with saving more than 100 trillion Btu of energy and preventing 6 million-plus metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2022. The cement and peer plants earned Energy Star certification for operating in the top 25 percent of energy…

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