Sources: Climate Earth, Richmond, Calif.; CP staff
The forerunner in environmental product declaration development tools for ready mixed and manufactured concrete producers has released a major update to its flagship EPD Information Management System. Climate Earth unveiled new EPD Advantage Pro features, led by Tarantula Curve Mix Optimization and ACI 323 Low-Carbon Concrete code analytics, at the NRMCA ConcreteWorks Conference earlier this month in Aurora, Colo. The update leverages a new, advanced cloud-based architecture to address security, scalability, performance, and IT integration needs of concrete producers and public or private construction accounts.
Climate Earth presents the Tarantula Curve feature as the first fully digital tool of its kind, yielding optimal trial mix designs that factor strength, workability and sustainability targets plus draft versus published EPDs. Developed at the Oklahoma State University, the Curve charts fine and coarse aggregate gradations and volumes best suited to particle packing and minimizing cement paste requirements.
The EPD Advantage Pro update coincides with the ACI 323’s formal premier next month during the American Concrete Institute Fall Convention in Philadelphia. Climate Earth programmers have equipped the platform so concrete producers can quickly analyze and report on code compliance or alignment. Producers and project stakeholders can also see how EPD-indicated global warming potential (GWP) metrics for proposed or specified mix designs compare to National Ready Mixed Concrete Association and California or New York State carbon thresholds for concrete.
EPD ADVANTAGE PRO DASHBOARD
EPD Advantage Pro users can generate high-quality graphics to show weighted GWP for a project and how the performance of each mix abides agency or client standards. “Concrete sustainability metrics come to life, making informed decisions a breeze,” Climate Earth notes. “By integrating ACI 323 into EPD Advantage Pro, we’re advancing and simplifying sustainability practices across North America. ACI 323 is a fundamental stepping stone toward reducing the concrete industry’s environmental footprint, shifting the focus from individual mixes to whole project impacts.”