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Association & Industry News
NRMCA members have lowered their carbon footprint by 21% in seven years according to a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) report and Industry Wide Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) published earlier this month. NRMCA started the journey toward carbon neutrality in 2009 and has since adopted a strategy for reducing environmental impacts of concrete that includes goals for reducing carbon footprint, among other impacts such as energy use, water use and waste along with increased recycled content, including the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash and slag cement.
Join the NRMCA Social Media Task Force for the free webinar series An Introduction to Social Media Platforms - When and How to Use Them. Each webinar will feature a different social media platform and will guide you or your social media specialist through the basics of how to create an account, how to best utilize each platform and how to manage your posts to become more visible. Social media has become a vital tool for promoting individual companies and the industry. To register, click on the links below.
For more information, contact Heather Houck at hhouck@nrmca.org. 
SEO
NRMCA annually surveys its membership to measure regulatory action within the industry in order to determine regulatory trends on specific issues, issue types and in geographic regions. This year’s survey also includes specific sections related to COVID-19 regulatory enforcement. This information, while strictly confidential, will help NRMCA to better tailor its actions to address and combat any such issues, and to keep a finger on the pulse of when, where, how and why regulatory agencies are targeting and levying enforcement actions against the industry. NRMCA urges you to take the survey at your earliest convenience; it will be held open until 5 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, March 25. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. 
NRMCA’s M2M Benefit program continues to provide better service and more value to all members; the latest addition is Associate member EBizCharge, a top-rated credit card and eCheck solution company that provides businesses with a faster, safer and less expensive way to get paid. It integrates into 100+ ERP, accounting, CRM and eCommerce tools to eliminate late payments and decrease overall days outstanding. Visit all NRMCA dedicated services through the updated M2M webpage where you can explore their offerings. Neither membership in NRMCA nor participation in the M2M Benefits Program can in any way be construed as an endorsement, explicit or implicit, of any company, product or service by the Association. NRMCA accepts no responsibility in any dispute between supplier and customer. The M2M Benefits Program is intended solely as an informational service. Participating companies are responsible for insuring all M2M Benefit information is correct. For more information, contact Jacques Jenkins at jjenkins@nrmca.org or Heather Houck at hhouck@nrmca.org. The MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) has released its Annual Report for 2021. The report outlines the CSHub’s research, implementation and communications activities toward the goals of realizing carbon neutrality, building world-class infrastructure with finite resources and creating cities resilient to the stresses of climate change. The report is available for viewing and download here. The MIT CSHub was co-founded by the RMC Research & Education Foundation and Portland Cement Association, and is an industry-academic collaboration. For more information on the work of the MIT CSHub or RMC Research & Education Foundation, contact the Foundation’s Executive Director Julie Garbini at jgarbini@rmc-foundation.org. 
Buildings
NRMCA has named Katie Poss director, sustainability inititives, effective yesterday, March 1. She will provide technical support to NRMCA members and state affiliates regarding green building standards, including LEED, Green Globes and the International Green Construction Code among others. Ms. Poss will work with a team of codes and standards experts to support concrete’s position within the green building standards. She will also manage education and certification programs for members required in the green building standards such as Environmental Product Declarations, Responsible Sourcing, Corporate Social Responsibility and Ingredient Disclosure (Health Product Declarations, Cradle to Cradle, GreenScreen, etc.). You may contact Katie Poss at kposs@nrmca.org.
Pavement
The non-profit organization American Trails recently announced the launch of its Trails Planning and Design Hub. Resources available through the hub include a host of webinars and design guides. At the encouragement of NRMCA's Pave Ahead team, the Guide to Concrete Trails, developed by the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center with funding from the RMC Research & Education Foundation, is among the guides featured on the hub. The guide was highlighted by NRMCA Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge in his article Concrete Trails Keep You on the Right Path that appeared in American Trails' November 2020 newsletter. According to americantrails.org analytics, the article has been read by over 3,000 trails professionals. “There is great interest in the development of hard surfaced trails across the country,” says Kresge. “And there is a significant amount of federal funding available at the state, county and city level. The potential for ready mixed concrete is huge. Monthly, hundreds of thousands of square feet of trails paving can be identified in bid sheets.” Click here to download a copy of the Guide to Concrete Trails. For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org.
NRMCA’s Think First monthly safety initiatives feature different industry-specific safety items relevant to seasons, current topics or industry concerns. The initiatives are meant to be shared, used as a training tool, printed, posted or distributed, all of which are encouraged. This month’s issue is titled Housekeeping…It’s Far Reaching!, pictured here. Government Affairs
NRMCA, in conjunction with the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, Portland Cement Association, American Road and Transportation Builders Association and other transportation infrastructure focused groups, is fighting recently-introduced proposals to suspend collection of the federal gas tax. Billed as an effort to fight inflation and provide relief at the pump, the legislation would halt the most significant funding stream of the already-troubled Highway Trust Fund, threatening transportation and infrastructure projects across the nation. Despite drawing criticism from the Tax Foundation and the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Budget (here), the proposal is gaining interest in Congress. Recently-introduced legislation proposes to stop collection of the federal gas tax for the remainder of 2022. This misguided legislation will jeopardize the funding of the Highway Trust Fund and create a fiscal cliff at the end of 2022, setting a terrible precedent that could lead to further jeopardizing the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. Click here to tell Congress to protect transportation and infrastructure funding and oppose suspending the gas tax! For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. Make plans to attend the Government Affairs Committee’s spring meeting at NRMCA’s Annual Convention in San Antonio, TX, on Wednesday, March 16, at 10 a.m. An agenda and minutes from the fall meeting will be circulated prior to the spring meeting. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. 
Registration continues for NRMCA’s financial performance education course Think Like an Owner to take place in Las Vegas, NV, April 5 - 6. This course is intended to empower participants to understand the drivers of financial performance and improve their management with an eye to profitability of their business center. Participants will learn how to read financial statements, measure performance, examine elements of profit and loss, and think in terms of economic profit. This course is a must-attend for industry participants, from plant managers to company presidents who want to run their operations profitably. Click here for more course, registration and hotel information. Make plans to attend the FPI Group’s Spring Meeting at NRMCA’s Annual Convention on Tuesday, March 15, at 4 p.m. local time in San Antonio, TX. An agenda and minutes from the fall meeting will be circulated prior to the spring meeting. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. Learning & Development
The Digital Transformation and Process Improvement Task Group, a task group within the FPI Group, has been created to address the ready mixed concrete industry’s information technology challenges. It is co-chaired by Keith Onchuck of Ozinga and Luis Angulo of CalPortland Company. NRMCA encourages IT staff from member companies to participate by completing a confidential IT survey on behalf of your company and by making plans to attend the task group’s meeting at NRMCA’s Annual Convention in San Antonio, TX, that will take place at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15. This survey will give NRMCA insight into the IT practices, capabilities and challenges of the ready mixed concrete industry. The results of the survey will be shared at the task group’s meeting at NRMCA’s Annual Convention. Please note, however, that no company’s individual results will be shared with any party. For more information, or to RSVP for the March 15 meeting, please contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. March 15 - 18, San Antonio, TX March 22 - 24, Smyrna, TN March 22 - 25, Boston March 22, Pearl, MS April 4 - 8, Online Course April 5 - 6, Las Vegas, NV April 19 - 21, Smyrna, TN April 19 - 21, Online Course September 29 - October 3, Aurora, CO 
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