Sources: Atlas Block Co. Ltd, Midland, Ontario; CarbonCure Technologies, Halifax, N.S.; CP staff
Responding to architectural/engineering/construction interests’ increasing scrutiny of project specs and their impacts, Atlas Block has issued an Environmental Product Declaration—the first for a concrete masonry unit molded in North America.
“We are proud to be leading the industry by providing transparent environmental information on our products and the first concrete products manufacturer to issue an EPD,” affirms Atlas CEO and Past (2011) National Concrete Masonry Association Chairman Don Gordon.
Posted here, the declaration covers a CarbonCure-processed 20 cm (8 inch), 16.5 kg (36 lb) CMU produced at the company’s flagship plant north of Toronto, serving Ontario and Quebec markets. After internal verification of the block’s material content and process data, the EPD has been submitted to Athena Sustainable Materials Institute, a Life Cycle Assessment specialist with Ottawa, Ont., and Kutztown, Pa., offices.
The producer plans EPD for additional concrete masonry profiles; like the first document, they will be based on the Carbon Leadership Forum’s North American Product Category Rules (PCR) for ISO 14025 Type III Environmental Product Declarations. The document ramp up coincides with the U.S. Green Building Council’s launch of (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) LEED v4, which provides points for projects where 20 or more specified materials or products are accompanied with EPD.
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