EPA funding fuels NRMCA promotion of low carbon concrete

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Alexandria, Va.; CP staff

The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association has secured a $9.63 million Environmental Protection Agency Reducing Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Construction Materials and Products Program grant, enabling the group and its Build With Strength team to further educate the architectural and engineering communities on designing and specifying low carbon concrete. EPA initiated the program through the Inflation Reduction Act in a nod to the federal government’s goal of reaching net zero emissions in procurement by the year 2050. Funding will empower U.S. companies to be competitive in landing federal or other institutional building contracts.

**The EPA grant will fuel NRMCA efforts to expand the universe of ready mixed plants providing data for the Industry Average EPD.**

The NRMCA project includes a focus on smaller companies in remote areas, promoting geographic diversity in EPD development, and ensuring equitable workforce development by encouraging minority groups and women to become sustainability experts. Over a five-year project horizon, the association proposes to increase the quantity and robustness of ready mixed concrete Environmental Product Declarations by providing grants to producers to create EPDs from an additional 3,000 plants—up from the present 1,500-plant universe. NRMCA plans to provide data quality management oversight and training, as well as education for producers by developing additional EPD verifiers and certifying up to 500 EPD specialists through an online education system. It also aims to enhance its existing low-carbon concrete tool and host five low-carbon concrete training workshops per year through 2029. The group likewise seeks to improve Product Category Rules for concrete and data availability for critical inputs, including cementitious materials, aggregates and admixtures.

“NRMCA has worked over the past 12 years to move the industry toward widespread adoption of Environmental Product Declarations,” says President Michael Philipps. “This grant is an investment in accelerating our efforts to move the industry toward low carbon concrete solutions.” The group will collaborate with various partners, including state ready mixed concrete associations, material suppliers, and academic institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he adds.