Creation of the First North American Precast Concrete EPDs

January 2016 marks the release of the first industry-wide Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) developed for the North American pre- cast concrete industry. This is the culmination of several years of work and unprecedented collaboration between the Canadian Precast/ Prestessed Concrete Institute (CPCI) based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA) based in Carmel, Indiana, USA, and the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. An EPD is an important tool design profes- sionals can use to assess the sustainable attributes of various building materials they are considering for use on their projects. EPDs pro- vide a more comprehensive analysis of multiple sustainability measurements, as opposed to focusing on single-attribute sustainability meas- urements, such as carbon footprint. This ensures better transparency when compared to situations where over-simplification can possibly mask or ignore problem areas. Consequently, the use of EPDs can help reduce the likelihood of greenwashing. This article provides a brief summary of major steps leading up to the final publication of the new EPDs.

---