The NRMCA released an updated PCR for concrete, NSF 1112-26 – Product Category Rule for Environmental Product Declarations: Concrete, Version 3 - providing important updates for clarity, better harmonization with upstream PCRs, and improved guidance on portable batch plants versus mobile volumetric mixers.
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Jonathan Kozlowski, Editor-in-Chief, Concrete Contractor:
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The National Ready Mix Concrete Association released an updated product category rule for environmental product declarations in concrete. Let's look into it.
The revision provides important updates for clarity, better harmonization for with upstream PCRs, includes improved guidance on portable batch plants versus mobile volumetric mixers.
What's a product category rule?
They are fundamental guidelines used to generate EPDs, an update to one is basically a revision of the standardized manual of how environmental impacts are calculated. This ensures that all rules are still aligned with the modern manufacturing practices, environmental data, materials, and newer international measurement standards that are, you know, constantly changing.
Okay, so what's the EPD?
It's like a nutritional label for concrete's environmental footprint. These are getting more and more important because more and more construction projects are asking for them. So, I connected with the NRMCA to find out what the update includes and what all this means for contractors.
Michael Wymant MEB, LEED AP, VP of Building Innovations, National Ready Mix Concrete Association:
The PCR and the update to the PCR is not going to directly impact the contractor immediately, and it doesn't give them anything. But it serves really as a backbone that allows them to win work. So, the benefit is that it ensures a level playing field, depending on you know where they are in the country, because every ready mix producer must use the same PCR rules for creating their specific EPDs. The contractor can accurately prove to an architect, structural engineer that their specified concrete mix is meeting the lower carbon footprints or lower than or performing better than what is being asked for than for the project or from their competitors.
So, that's the first benefit, and then of course regulatory compliance on the part of the contractor. So, it directly unlocks government contracts for them, access to projects that require EPDs. So, under federal buy clean laws that we're seeing, contractors can't bid on public infrastructure projects without having EPDs, and that's the most current valid PCR empowers them to have the the most accurate EPDs to compete.
And then more and more major projects are asking for EPDs, as you mentioned, data centers being kind of at the forefront of a lot of the attention right now. So, the accuracy of the information is critical.
Kozlowski:
Find a full article and additional resources from the NRMCA linked in the description below. For more happenings within construction industry, follow Watch FCP and check us out on FourConstructionPros.com.
