Environmental Product Declarations, Global Warming Potentials, Sustainability, & Green Building Certifications
An Environmental Product Declaration, or EPD, clearly outlines the various ecological impacts of concrete production including CO2 emissions, resource usage, and the possible impacts on surrounding water systems. EPDs for concrete provide transparent and standardized information to architects, engineers, and builders to compare different supplementary cementitious material product options to meet specific sustainable initiatives and reduce the global warming potential of new builds. As a result, R-E-D Industrial Products has made the necessary changes to become a leader in providing supplementary cementitious materials that address sustainability and green building certifications. Our team is committed to improving greener building practices with supplementary cementitious products for concrete at cost-competitive prices that reduce environmental impact while creating more durable and longer-lasting structures.
How are EPDs Improving the Concrete Industry?
With these enhanced regulations and concentration on sustainable building materials, there has been a particular bullseye on Portland cement manufacturing and reducing the cradle-to-gate environmental impact by adding SCMs to replace Portland. The production of Portland cement is one of the leading emitters of greenhouse gases accounting for approximately 8% of overall global CO2 emissions. Some estimations show that the production of one ton of traditional cement produces an equal amount of carbon dioxide. To reduce greenhouse gas, one first must be able to measure it. EPDs or Environmental Product Declarations are these reported measurements and are a similar equivalent to the Nutrition Facts label we have all grown so accustomed to seeing on every food item we consume.
The primary tracked component of an EPD is its Global Warming Potential (GWP), which is a measurement of how much CO2 is emitted when 1 ton of the material is produced. Instead of dictating how much of our daily fat and cholesterol, these Environmental Product Declarations for concrete show the ecological impact of these materials when building new homes, skyscrapers, foundations, roads, tunnels, and bridges all around the world.
Industry associations have already begun to report to the world their respective products' EPDs. For example, The American Institute of Steel Construction reports that for every 1 ton of hot-rolled steel produced, there is an industry average of 1.22 tons of CO2 emitted. Alternatively, The Portland Cement Association (PCA) reports that for every 1 ton of Portland cement produced an industry average of 919 kg of CO2 is emitted. Now that there are EPDs and Global Warming Potentials (GWP) being reported, we have the benchmarks to begin to track the reductions needed by all CO2-emitting industries.
Reducing the Global Warming Potential of Concrete with SCMs
The primary question when discussing EPDs in general is how can architects, engineers, and contractors improve building quality while reducing environmental impact throughout the construction process. One of the most effective ways to reduce the Global Warming Potential of a building is reducing the Portland cement content in concrete with more sustainable SCMs. The most recent widespread method to do this to date is to use Portland Limestone Cement (PLC or Type 1L cement) which has an increased amount of limestone dust (up to 15%) and therefore a lower amount of Portland cement in the resultant concrete. The PCA reports the industry average of PLC is 844 kg of CO2 per 1 ton of PLC produced. We're going in the right direction!
To further improve the environmental impact of concrete is the utilization of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). R-E-D Industrial Products offers customers a comprehensive catalog of SCMs that are designed to be used in a wide variety of concrete applications including marine environments, bridges, tunnels, machine bases, foundations, refractories, and oil and gas wellheads. In general, SCMs greatly reduce water usage, prevent erosion, improve durability, and most importantly increase the finished product's strength and longevity. Many of these products have tangible sustainability benefits like improved thermal resistances, mechanical strength, and anti-corrosive characteristics that promote durability in challenging conditions. Available SCMs from R-E-D include silica fume, fly ash, ground glass pozzolans, metakaolin, and nano-silica powders.
Sustainability Facts about R-E-D Industrial SCMs
The Global Warming Potential for R-E-D's Ground Glass Pozzolan (ReAct 4TM) is 52 kg of CO2 per ton of ReAct 4™ produced - that's one of the lowest amounts of CO2 emitted for a produced cementitious material on the planet!
Integrating just 1,000 pounds of fly ash into a concrete mixture will conserve enough energy to power the average American home for 12 days. Furthermore, this will save enough landfill space for the solid waste generated by an average American for over 200 days!
Metakaolin is an environmentally friendly and naturally occurring product that reduces overall CO2 creation and lowers amounts of greenhouse gas emissions when used in concrete. According to the National Transportation Research Non-Profit group, 28% of the nation's major roadways, including interstates, freeways, and major arterial roadways in urban areas, are in "poor" condition. This means they have so many major ruts, cracks, and potholes that they can't simply be resurfaced; they need to be rebuilt entirely, and using metakaolin would help reduce the environmental impact of this massive undertaking.
Building a Sustainable Future with EPDs for Concrete
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for concrete are vital tools in advancing sustainable construction practices and encouraging the use of beneficial supplementary cementitious materials. By providing transparent and measurable data on the environmental impacts of concrete production, EPDs empower architects, engineers, and builders to make informed decisions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the sustainable score of new buildings and structures. R-E-D Industrial Products is proud to lead the way in offering sustainable materials that help meet environmental goals without compromising performance or durability.
Comments