The Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, Schaumburg, Ill., has released Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for Fabricated Steel Reinforcement Bar, superseding a 2017 declaration. Aware of the increasing interest in transparent reporting of a construction product’s cradle-to-gate environmental performance, CRSI aims to demonstrate members’ sustainability leadership, underscored by their a) output of reinforcing bars of more than 97 percent recycled content, and b) central role in the 70 million-plus tons of steel scrap the U.S. recycles annually.
The Institute evaluated the environmental profile of fabricated steel reinforcing bar by conducting a cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), spawning a new IW EPD. The analysis was conducted according to the UL Environment’s Product Category Rules Part A: Life Cycle Assessment Calculation Rules and Report Requirements and Part B: Designated Steel Construction Product EPD Requirements (UL Environment, 2018; UL Environment, 2020). It covers fabricated steel reinforcing bar defined by ASTM A615/A615M Standard Specification for Deformed and Plain Carbon-Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement, and A706/A706M Standard Specification for Deformed and Plain Low-Alloy Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement.