A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) pilot project is in the works to measure the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of certain industrial products or materials, likely led by cement, steel, aluminum and glass. The move coincides with a greater emphasis on “clean” manufacturing and the need among companies, government officials, trading partners and consumers for a fair, coherent system to…
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AggNexus Conference shows the value of optimal data interpretation
The premier AggNexus Digital Innovation Conference drew upward of 100 representatives of independent or multinational concrete, cement, aggregate and asphalt producers, along with their software and hardware partners. Staged last month on the University of Texas, Austin campus, it demonstrated how the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence models, coupled with data capture or analytics methods, are transforming construction material producer…
Read MoreUniversity Lab-to-Slab team measures metakaolin performance
The Sustainable Concrete Lab-to-Slab Initiative under the University of California, Davis Pavement Research Center will see testing of three slabs bearing 2.5 yd. or more of concrete mixes designed with novel binders, including a supplementary cementitious blend from metakaolin producer Purebase Corp., Ione, Calif. Through prequalification testing, QA/QC, mid-term monitoring, plus environmental, constructability and life cycle cost assessment, Center officials…
Read MoreIT upgrade expedites NLRB case processing
The General Services Administration Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) announced a $23 million investment to modernize the National Labor Relations Board case management system. The funding will enable the agency to replace its outdated hardware with an advanced, cloud-based solution, dramatically improving its ability to process labor disputes efficiently. In 2023, the NLRB processed over 22,000 cases and recovered more than…
Read MoreBureau sees construction ranks nearing 8.4 million by 2033
Employment Projections — 2023-2033, a new Bureau of Labor Statistics report, tracks the addition of 6.7 million jobs to the U.S. economy over the next 10 years, 380,000 of them in Construction, 75,000 in Architectural, Engineering and Related Services occupational categories. The projected 4.7 percent gain in Construction jobs through 2033, where industry headcount would hover 8.4 million versus 8…
Read MoreEPA publishes Buy Clean construction materials label program primers
The Environmental Protection Agency Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention has outlined an implementation plan for a program and publicly accessible registry providing data on greenhouse gas emissions attending principal building and infrastructure project inputs. The EPA Label Program for Low Embodied Carbon Construction Materials will define parameters and thresholds informing the White House Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which…
Read MoreAssociated Builders & Contractors on board with Donald Trump
Confirming the Associated Builders & Contractors’ endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, ABC CEO Michael Bellaman and 2024 Chair of the ABC National Board of Directors Buddy Henley (Henley Construction Co. Inc.) note in a letter to his campaign: “After almost four years of anti-competitive, inflationary and divisive policies undermining taxpayer investments in America’s infrastructure, ABC is looking forward…
Read MoreEnergy Department spawns Cement and Concrete Center of Excellence
The Department of Energy Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) will create a Cement and Concrete Center of Excellence to accelerate the development and adoption of novel low-carbon material technologies. U.S. National Laboratories can receive up to $9 million through an upcoming competitive call to organize and lead the effort. DOE and IEDO officials envision the center as a) supporting…
Read MoreThe Corporate Transparency Act and the Corporate Burden it Creates
BY STEVEN FRIEDMAN In 2020, the United States government passed an updated version of its long-standing Anti-Money Laundering Act, modernizing how federal agencies could combat money laundering and other financial crimes. As part of the resulting policy updates, Congress enacted the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) on a bipartisan vote in early 2021. The law went into effect on January 1,…
Read More$14.5M DOE grant steers SCM-driven Queens Carbon toward cement partner
The U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) has awarded Queens Carbon $14.5 million to help fund a pilot supplementary cementitious materials facility engineered for 10 metric tons/day output and built at an existing portland cement operation. Applying hydrothermal technology, the Pine Brook, N.J. startup company crystallizes carbonate mineral feedstocks into Q-SCM binder, which exhibits potential…
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