The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) and consultants WAP Sustainability have launched on-demand Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for concrete producers in North America.
According to the GCCA, the new EPD on-demand service will enable concrete producers to quickly, accurately, and cost effectively produce verified EPDs of their products.
The partnership says the move represents a “major step” towards greener construction.
EPDs allow producers to show the environmental impact of their products across a number of metrics, including global warming potential.
Various US state and local governments have emerging Buy Clean initiatives, which require transparency around embodied emissions and rely on EPDs.
Increasingly, designers are also requiring EPDs to assess their designs and support their decarbonisation efforts.
‘Sustainable world of tomorrow’
Commenting on the launch, Andrew Minson, Concrete and Sustainable Construction director, said: “The cement and concrete sector is playing a key part in sustainable construction, but this requires transparent, objective, and accessible data on the environmental impact of our products.
“Our collaboration with WAP will allow concrete producers to quickly and cost effectively produce EPDs that can demonstrate the contribution of their products to a sustainable world of tomorrow.”
James Salazar, EPD director for WAP, said: “WAP’s partnership with the GCCA leverages the GCCA’s industry-leading computation engine with WAP’s easy-to-use software and full-service support.
“As requirements for EPDs grow, we’re excited to offer credible and low-cost solutions through close partnerships with industry leaders like the GCCA.”
Under the partnership, the GCCA EPD calculation engine is integrated into WAP’s EPD On-Demand system in the hope of making it cheaper and quicker for North American concrete producers to provide EPDs.
The GCCA calculation engine has been independently verified and complies with relevant EPD standards and concrete PCRs.
GCCA and WAP say they are working to expand their coverage across the world with a focus on Europe.
Image: Bannafarsai_Stock/Shutterstock
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