NRMCA Certifies First EPD for Concrete in North America

NRMCA has certified the first Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for concrete in North America. The EPD covers 1,479 concrete mixes produced at eight concrete plants owned and operated by Central Concrete, Inc., a U.S. Concrete company. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Concrete is the first concrete company in North America to receive a verified EPD. The EPD was independently verified and certified under the NRMCA EPD Program which was established in 2012 to enable its members to meet new requirements in LEED v4 and the Architecture 2030 Challenge for Products.

Central Concrete engaged LCA consultant Climate Earth to conduct a comprehensive LCA on over 1,400 mixes produced at eight different plants. It followed the North American Product Category Rule for Concrete developed by the Carbon Leadership Forum, relevant international standards and the NRMCA EPD Program Instructions to complete the EPD. The LCA and EPD were independently verified by Athena Sustainable Materials Institute. As required by the international standards, NRMCA published the EPD on its Web site.