NRMCA has signed an agreement with several cement and concrete groups from around the world to develop an international responsible sourcing certification program for concrete. The project, which is spearheaded by the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD), includes cement and concrete groups from North America, South America and Europe. The agreement was signed on February 5 by NRMCA Chairman Bill Childs during a special ceremony at the International Concrete Sustainability Conference in Medellin, Columbia, one of several such conferences sponsored by NRMCA each year.

With the recent release of the United States Green Building Council’s (USBGC) LEED v4, building product manufacturers are faced with opportunities of contributing to the new Material and Resources Credit: Sourcing of Raw Materials. LEED v4 is encouraging the use of building products that have environmentally, economically and socially preferable impacts. The new Responsible Sourcing credit rewards project teams for selecting products and materials verified to have been extracted or sourced in a responsible manner. The development of the new international responsible sourcing program for concrete will help concrete producers meet these new LEED requirements. The international responsible sourcing program framework and details will be developed throughout 2014 and launched in early 2015.