American Coal Ash Association and Natural Pozzolan Association are partnering with Smart EPD to develop a North American Product Category Rule (PCR) for supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). Developing this new PCR is the first step in developing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which will allow cement and concrete manufacturers, as well as other pozzolan users, to evaluate environmental impacts of SCMs from an “apples-to-apples” comparison that follows ISO International Standards.
Product Category Rules help minimize confusion among various types of environmental reporting by establishing a clear, consistent evaluation method by which the environmental impact claims of products – including carbon emissions – are evaluated. Once a PCR is established, an EPD can be created based on product evaluations. The resulting EPD allows for a fairer comparison of environmental impacts between similar products and is an important transparency tool. To produce an EPD, companies must first develop a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for their product that addresses product specific calculations and requirements specified in a PCR.
Smart EPD is a type III EPD Program Operator focused on developing rigorous, consensus-based PCRs and leveraging digital tools to create, certify, and exchange product environmental impact data at scale. Smart EPD was founded with the vision of helping organizations create EPDs at scale and explore innovative reporting solutions all while maintaining highly rigorous third-party quality standards.
“We applaud the coal ash and natural pozzolan industries’ efforts to develop this PCR because it is a big first step in providing transparency for SCMs, and consequently, cement and concrete,” said Anna Lasso, Managing Director of Smart EPD, who will also serve as the PCR project manager. “This is an important industry-led effort to enable procurement of lower-carbon materials required by federal and state ‘buy clean’ policies.”
For more information about the PCR development process, contact [email protected].