Major step forward for sustainability reporting
GCCA and Athena Sustainable Materials Institute announce partnership to produce on-demand EPDs
THE Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) and Athena Sustainable Materials Institute, a leading think tank in sustainable construction and life-cycle assessment, have announced a partnership to produce environmental product declarations (EPDs) on demand for concrete producers in North America. The EPD on-demand service will allow concrete producers to quickly, accurately, and cost effectively produce verified EPDs of their products at the click of a button.
EPDs are becoming a key part of sustainable construction, allowing producers to transparently and objectively show the environmental impact of their products across a number of metrics, including global warming potential, often referred to as carbon footprint.
The United Nations sponsored Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI) launched a low-carbon procurement initiative in September, in Pittsburgh, which will be adopted by national governments and will be based on EPDs. Various state and local governments have emerging Buy Clean initiatives which also require transparency around embodied emissions and rely on EPDs. Increasingly, designers are requiring EPDs to assess their designs and support their decarbonization efforts.
Under the partnership, the GCCA is working closely with Athena on integrating the GCCA EPD tool’s calculation engine into Athena’s EPD On-Demand system, and the service is expected to be fully functional in the coming months. This partnership will ensure that producers will have access to an automated tool that uses the GCCA EPD tool engine. The GCCA calculation engine has been independently verified and it complies with the EPD standards and PCRs.
GCCA and Athena are working to expand their coverage across the world.
Andrew Minson (right of photo), the GCCA’s 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 Athena 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 (left of photo), EPD director for Athena, said: ‘Athena’s partnership with the GCCA leverages the GCCA’s industry-leading computation engine with Athena’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.’
