ACI Center validation, verification service looks beyond EPD GWP metrics

Sources: NEU, An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete, Farmington Hills, Mich.; CP staff

The inaugural American Concrete Institute Center of Excellence has formally launched a validation and verification program for new materials, products or technologies associated with low carbon cement and concrete. The NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete undertaking is aimed at providing architectural, engineering, construction parties and building or infrastructure owners assurances of the efficacy of claims related to carbon dioxide emissions reduction levels attending project specifications. Validation and verification by NEU-retained subject matter experts (SME) will broaden carbon metric perspectives often limited to environmental product declaration GWP (global warming potential) figures expressed as kilograms of CO₂ equivalent per cubic yard, metric ton or other unit of measure.

NEU views validation and verification as respectively evaluating “reasonableness of the assumptions, limitations and methods that support an environmental statement about the outcome of future activities” and “an environmental information statement based on historical data and information to determine whether the statement is materially correct and conforms to relevant criteria.” Categories under the new service include:

Cement or Cementitious Materials
Reduced Emissions Alternative Cements/Binders
Supplementary Cementitious Materials
Reduced-Emissions Cement Manufacturing with Alternative Fuels and/or Energy Sources
Low-Carbon Footprint Conventional or Ultra-High-Performance Concrete
Admixtures, Mineral or Fibrous Additives and Nanoparticles used in Concrete
Concrete Mix Design Optimization
Natural, Manufactured or Recycled Aggregates
Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage
Carbon Dioxide-Based Curing
Conventional and Low-Carbon Concrete Reinforcement
Non-metallic Reinforcing Bars
Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning

Validation and verification work is bound by internationally accepted standards and will include application and initial review, independent SME committee formation, followed by SME review and report drafting. — www.neuconcrete.org