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Association & Industry News
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) invited stakeholders in the cement and concrete industry for what was titled a Concrete Innovation Summit. There were about 80 attendees, including CEOs from the cement and concrete industry and various stakeholders from companies involved in innovations that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete. The group was addressed by Arati Prabhakar, director of OSTP; Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Brenda Mallory, chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and Janet McCabe, deputy administrator of the EPA. The focus was on the considerable investment by the Biden/Harris administration on infrastructure and addressing climate change. Several available funding opportunities were outlined.
The estimated ready mixed concrete produced in April is 33.9 million cubic yards, 6% higher than in April 2023. The estimated production in the U.S. through April is 112 million cubic yards, approximately 1.9% lower than that during the same period in 2023. Ready mixed concrete production is estimated from cement shipments reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. More detail is available here for NRMCA members under Production Statistics. 
SEO
The Safety, Environmental and Operations (SEO) Committee is soliciting the NRMCA membership for Carpenter-Mullings Award nominations. Award recipients are singled out for their outstanding lifetime contributions to the ready mixed concrete industry in the field of operations, safety or environmental. Nominees may be ready mixed concrete company employees, manufacturers or suppliers to the industry or Association staff members. They can be active, retired or deceased. Nominations are tendered and reviewed annually; however, awards are only given when deemed appropriate by the SEO Committee. Nominations for the Carpenter-Mullings Award are solicited annually from the members of the SEO Committee. A task group of active past winners will review the submissions and will present its nominee for approval of the full committee at the fall SEO Committee meeting. Results will be announced immediately. The award will be presented at the 2025 NRMCA Annual Convention. The nominations deadline is Friday, September 13. Click here for more information or contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. Late last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) formally withdrew its appeal of a federal court’s decision to vacate the NLRB’s 2023 Joint Employer Final Rule. Earlier this year, after multiple stakeholders brought litigation against the NLRB for its finalized joint employer rule, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas sided with the plaintiffs and vacated the rule. The NRLB initially appealed the decision, but has since abandoned the effort. The 2023 Final Joint Employer Rule attempted to dramatically expand the liability of businesses for labor law violations committed by other businesses they may work with closely. NRMCA worked individually and with coalition partners to oppose the rule when it was first proposed in 2022. The 2023 final rule rescinded and replaced the 2020 joint employer rule promulgated by the Trump Administration, which provided more certainty for employers when determining their joint employer status, including, among other issues, NLRB unfair labor practices. NRMCA supports the NLRB’s appeal withdraw, which now allows the reimplementation of the much clearer 2020 NLRB joint employer standard. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. 
NRMCA’s Build With Strength initiative sponsored the Advancing Construction Decarbonization symposium held in Denver July 15 - 17. This annual conference brought together hundreds of sustainability and project leaders from North America and Europe to discuss the collaboration and partnerships needed to continue to advance carbon reduction strategies in the built environment, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Patrick Matsche.
The National Mixer Driver Championship and ConcreteWorks 2024, taking place from October 10 - 14 at the Gaylord Rockies in Aurora, CO, are great opportunities for networking and showcasing your brand. Both events offer a variety of sponsorship opportunities such as becoming an event sponsor for the driver championship or a Driver’s Position Reception sponsor. There are many other sponsorship options available, but they are selling out quickly. Now is the time to ensure your company's presence at NRMCA’s largest event of the year by securing your sponsorship today. Click here for all available sponsorship opportunities. For more information, contact Jacques Jenkins at 703-706-4865 or jjenkins@nrmca.org. 
The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) will host a webinar on Thursday, August 1, at 1 p.m. Eastern titled Construction and Fire Risk: An Insurance Perspective. It will feature three panelists: Jeff Benson, vice president and program manager at Victor Insurance, will present on the current state of the construction insurance marketplace, focusing on underwriting issues related to the increasing wildfire exposures around the country, and how construction materials affect availability and cost of insurance for projects under construction. NRMCA Senior Vice President, Codes and Standards, Shamim Rashid-Sumar will provide an overview of the 2024 survey of insurance costs for multifamily buildings constructed with wood-frame and concrete, quantifying differences in costs to insure buildings of combustible versus non-combustible construction. Dr. Anne Cope, chief engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), will discuss IBHS’s ongoing wind and wildfire research, with insights on how the research findings lead to actionable resiliency guides and voluntary designation programs. NRMCA is an organizational member of NIBS and participates in NIBS’ Consultative Council as well as NIBS’ Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council to promote disaster resilience and whole-building strategies to strengthen individual buildings, businesses, and communities. Click here to register for the webinar. For more information on NRMCA’s Codes and Standards advocacy efforts related to resilience, sustainability and energy efficiency, contact Shamim Rashid-Sumar at ssumar@nrmca.org. Buildings
Last week, NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Frank Mruk participated in the Decarb NYC Summit held at the 555 Greenwich Hudson Properties building in Lower Manhattan. This project exceeded New York City's 2030 climate targets for office buildings by over 45 percent and aligned with the state's 2050 carbon neutral targets. The conference was hosted by Companies for Net Zero that gathered the top designers, engineers, finance companies and innovators to advance projects for decarbonizing real estate and large-scale infrastructure projects. Over the past 90 days, the conference has successfully hosted three highly impactful Decarb Summits at SOM, Gensler, and Sasaki in Boston and NYC. More than 100 attendees (some seen here) were at the event, including from Hines, L&M Development, Rockrose, Rudin, Tishman, Turner, Vornado, NYSERTA, Atelier Ten, BPCA, Buro Happold, Compass, Hines, Hunter Roberts, Lendlease, Parsons, Stantec, Consigli and others. The Build With Strength program is a leader in supporting organizations and developers in the specification of high-performance, energy-efficient concrete buildings. For more information, contact Frank Mruk at fmruk@nrmca.org.
NRMCA Producer member Thomas Concrete recently held a Lunch & Learn session at its Charleston, SC, office on low-carbon concrete. Thomas’s team of Joy Davidson, TCI sustainability manager and Justin Lazenby, director of technical services, led a discussion that touched on the challenges of decarbonizing construction, tools for reducing CO2 emissions, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Type 1L cement and other solutions and economic benefits of sustainable concrete, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Patrick Matsche.
Learning & Development
After much consideration, NRMCA’s Workforce Development Committee has elected to put National Mixer Driver Appreciation Week on hold in 2024 while it is being reimagined for its return in 2025. Members can expect improvements to the appreciation week’s existing offerings, including merchandise co-branded between NRMCA and local member organizations, as well as an increase in the event’s scope to include recognition and appreciation for all ready mix workers. Ultimately, the goal of these changes is to deliver greater value to drivers and ready mix workers, and to attract and retain more professionals to the industry. NRMCA is excited to continue exploring new ways to celebrate and advocate for the ready mix workforce. If you have ideas for appreciation week in 2025, please contact Jeannette Munroe at jmunroe@nrmca.org or 703-706-4864. Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct registration links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's website. September 9 - 13, Baltimore *Limited Seating September 10 - 12, Sacramento, CA September 25, Metro Kansas City October 10 - 14, Denver October 15 - 18, Denver November 20 - 22, Oklahoma City December 3 - 5, Orlando, FL December 10 - 13, Charleston, SC *Sold Out December 10 - 12, Denver 2025 January 28 - 31, Albuquerque, NM February 11 - 13, Antioch, TN March 4 - 7, Tucson, AZ March 18 - 20, Denver March 18 - 21, Oklahoma City April 8 - 11, Orlando, FL October 10 - 14, Orlando, FL 
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