Pacific Northwest Building Resilience Coalition

Environmental Product Declarations (EPD’s) for Oregon’s Concrete just got easier

As market forces change, consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious of their product choices. In response, OCAPA and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have partnered to provide free access to an online EPD tool and a cost reimbursement program to help any Oregon concrete producer get EPD labels for their mix designs.

The Oregon Concrete EPD Program is a partnership between OCAPA and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). It features free EPD tool access and cost reimbursement incentives for Oregon concrete producers.

> The EPD tool was originally funded and launched by the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development. The tool was recently adapted by the Portland Cement Association (PCA) for use in the United States. Oregon is one of the first states in the nation to enter into a sublicense agreement with Quantis (the tool developer) and the World Business Council to offer free access to the CSI EPD tool for all concrete producers in Oregon.

Why is OCAPA partnering with Oregon DEQ?
Oregon DEQ was interested in how 3^rd parties including industry associations and governments could support the development of EPDs, which is a form of product environmental footprinting. DEQ survey research found that product footprinting (such as EPDs) did, in fact, help companies make targeted and informed process improvements while in some cases also achieving financial savings for the business.

DEQ’s survey research of over 120 companies also found that cost, staff time, and working with suppliers were all barriers to product footprinting efforts, such as producing EPDs. Oregon DEQ sought an industry sector where both market conditions and the ability to improve the product existed in tandem. DEQ pursued working with the concrete industry because of the existing active work on EPDs in the industry and concrete producer’s ability to lower the impact of their mixes with known technology.

Frank Came