Carbon policies ignite fires under federal agency seats

A hastily conducted first quarter survey spawning the General Services Administration’s Low Embodied Carbon Concrete Standards, noted here in May, set the table for comparably quick, parallel action by the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency (note Federal Buy Clean Initiative, page 13), plus the Department of Energy (DOE). The latter’s new “Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap” identifies pathways—Energy Efficiency; Industrial…

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Steelmakers’ carbon emissions study template suits cement counterparts

By Don Marsh A new study, “SMA/CRU Emissions Analysis,” concludes that the output of Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) members—electric arc furnace (EAF) operators in the U.S.—has a carbon intensity approximately 75 percent lower than that of peers running traditional blast furnaces. The EAF process underpins nearly 100 percent of concrete reinforcing steel and 70 percent of overall tonnage milled in…

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