The Conveyor 2023 Fall Issue by CMS

2023

A publication of the California Construction and Industrial Materials Association

Materials and Products Issue

Fall Issue

INNOVATION New Material Plant Nears Completion

SEE INSIDE: 8

FEATURE STORY

GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS

Q&A WITH POLICY LEADER

WOCIMA TOURS VULCAN

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2023 FALL ISSUE 8

4 CHAIRMAN'S LETTER Sharing Our Story

6 PRESIDENT & CEO MESSAGE Must Lead to be at the Table

8 FEATURE STORY

New Material Plant Nears Completion

10 MATERIALS AND PRODUCTS

The Greening of Materials in California Buildings

12 MINERALS

What’s Next in the Demand for Battery Capacity?

14 ASPHALT

Bringing Life Cycle Thinking into Pavement Decision-Making

16 SUSTAINABILITY

Finding Green in the Blacktop: Lower Carbon Asphalt is Here

18 Q&A WITH POLICY LEADER

Q&A with Tim Greutert, Caltrans’ State Materials Engineer

20 ENVIRONMENTAL

Environmental Product Declarations: Breaking Down the Basics

22 TRANSPORTATION

CalCIMA Truck ID Program Celebrates 25 Years

24 CONCRETE INITIATIVES

CalCIMA Issues Concrete Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality

26 EVENT - PLANT TOUR

WOCIMA Tours Vulcan Materials Company, Chula Vista

28 SOCIAL LICENSE TO OPERATE

Earn Your Social License to Operate with CalCIMA

30 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION NEWS ON THE COVER: Fortera plant in Redding, CA: photo provided by Fortera

The Conveyor is a publication of the California Construction and Industrial Materials Association. The views expressed herein are fixed expressions of the contributing writers and not of CalCIMA. All rights reserved. CalCIMA 455 Capitol Mall, Suite 210 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 554-1000 www.calcima.org www.distancematters.org

Published By Construction Marketing Services, LLC P.O. Box 892977 Temecula, CA 92589 (909) 772-3121 Publisher Kerry Hoover khoover@calcontractor.com Editor Brian Hoover bhoover@ironads.com

The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

Editorial Contributors Brian Davis, Climate Earth

Wayne Palmer, Essential Minerals Association

John Harvey, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the UC Pavement Research Center (UCPRC), University of California, Davis

Charley Rea, Vice President of Policy & Communications, CalCIMA

Edgard Hitti, Granite Construction Co.

Graphic Designer Aldo Myftari

Keith Krugh, Chief Manufacturing Officer, Fortera

The Conveyor is published quarterly each year by Construction Marketing Services, LLC

Julia Maldonado, Communications Coordinator, CalCIMA

CHAIRMAN'S LETTER

Sharing Our Story The need for products made from stone, sand, and gravel date back as far as 12,000 years. Although those materials remain critical to a growing and evolving world, as producers we find ourselves increasingly subject to questions about the how and why of supplying construction materials to make roads and bridges and build homes, schools, and buildings. Encroaching development, stringent legislation and regulation, habitat conservation and reclamation, and recruiting challenges are some of the conversations that we find ourselves facing every day because, until recently, we have not educated the general public about our industry–how we extract materials, our collective safety record, our unmatched contribution to the builtsociety, the work ethic and dedication of our teams and much more. The time has come for us to share our story! Interacting with the communities where we operate, educating legislators, and generally sharing our story plays a vital role in shaping the overall success, reputation, and sustainability of our industry and individual companies. While there are many reasons why sharing our story is critical for our industry, as well as your company, I offer six for you to consider: • Public image/reputation management–when we operate in a transparent and responsible manner and people know our story, we establish a positive public image. • Risk management–opening lines of communication with a community allows us to address concerns, conflicts, or misunderstandings proactively thereby mitigating potential risks. • Recruiting–a positive public image helps attract local talent and contribute to talent retention.

• Operational sustainability–businesses that operate in harmony with their community are more likely to enjoy long-term sustainability. • Customer trust and loyalty–customers appreciate and are more likely to support companies that demonstrate a genuine concern for the community, give back in meaningful ways, and are socially conscious. • Local economic development–strong community ties contribute to jobs and stimulate growth which results in mutually beneficial economic relationships. There are many straightforward ways to share our story and interact with the community where you operate, including hosting facility tours, volunteering at a local charity, sponsoring local youth sports teams, embracing media/social media and many more. Fostering strong community ties and sharing our story is not only an ethical obligation but also a strategic business decision. A harmonious relationship with the community will enhance our overall sustainability, reputation and growth prospects as an industry. It is time for us to share our story. In this age where information is easily shareable, who do you trust and seek to do business with that doesn’t share their story? To learn more ways to share our story, join CalCIMA’s continuing training series “Your Social License… and Registration, Please,” where experts in the field discuss their tips and tricks for sharing our story and obtaining a social license. Visit www.calcima.org/slo to register for an upcoming webinar / training. n

Jamie Polomsky President - Western Division Vulcan Materials Company CalCIMA Chairman

The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

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PRESIDENT & CEO MESSAGE

Must Lead to be at the Table It is an exciting time for essential materials producers. Along with being technology innovators, as producers we are experiencing an unprecedented change of pace in adaptation. From the minerals needed to create new technology, to the changes in aggregate, concrete, and asphalt materials, producers are pursuing innovations to reduce embodied carbon and emissions. An evolution in materials is occurring at an exponential pace, and producers are making great strides in sustainability and efficiency. The pride that comes with being innovative, however, is not without its requisite uncertainty and challenges. While some of the innovations are happening due to producers’ own search for solutions, changes in societal values and the legislative/regulatory environment can push innovation at rates which are difficult to manage. Case in point: Carbon. Expectations and regulatory mandates are coming at an amazing speed, often well ahead of realistic expectations. Fortunately, it is in producers' DNA to innovate. Producers know, as bestselling author Charles Swindoll penned, “We can't change the inevitable. But we can change how we respond. After all, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react.” While innovation is happening at our concrete and asphalt labs and in our plants, we as an association have to innovate in our advocacy efforts to ensure predictable and deliverable pathways to meet legislative and regulatory priorities for our products. CalCIMA recognizes that the day of just saying no, while spinning narratives full of hypothetical impacts to justify opposition to progress, is not an effective policy strategy. We and our members must engage, lead, and actively advocate for the potential of our materials and appropriate pathways to progress, ensuring our members’ needs are considered by policy makers.

As the old saying goes, if you’re not at the table, you are on the menu. I count myself fortunate that CalCIMA's members understand the need to lead with professionalism and integrity during this dynamic moment full of extraordinary challenges and threats. I appreciate their trust in CalCIMA and our team as we negotiate. As we engage in leading on policy, we must also reinforce and strengthen the foundation of our ability to operate. We cannot take our “social license”–meaning the community’s support for our operations –for granted. As California’s economy continues to shift to the service industries, there is less understanding of what we do and our core role in the economy. We acknowledged this reality during our last industry-wide strategic planning session, which led to the refocusing of our overall communications strategies. I will be sharing progress on those strategies during our upcoming conference. One offensive we have already developed and started implementation of is our “Your Social License… and Registration Please” training series to build the capacity of your teams to engage their constituencies. Please take time now to review the components of that training, get the right team members of your company engaged, and let us know if there are additional components you would like to see. This is such an exciting and challenging time for our industry. With innovation comes opportunity. Let’s make sure we take advantage of that innovation to reestablish our social license to operate and strengthen our industry. With great moments, come great opportunities for those willing to lead. n

Sincerely,

Robert Dugan President/CEO CalCIMA

The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

FEATURE STORY

INNOVATION

New Material Plant Nears Completion Keith Krugh, Chief Manufacturing Officer, Fortera

Above: Fortera Team, San Jose, CA - July, 2023.

ortera is focused on reducing emissions from cement production. Our new lowcarbon cement plant in Redding, California will intercept the CO2 emissions from the existing CalPortland kiln and convert them into a new kind of cementitious material. As we near the final stages of construction, we are thrilled to report several significant milestones, including major equipment setting, kiln stack tapping, and completing the design of a human-machine interface (HMI). Each of these milestones brings us closer to providing the cement industry with

a near-term solution for cement decarbonization mandates with an approach that is economically, environmentally, and logistically feasible. With the second largest cement production in the nation, the State of California passed legislation in 2021 requiring cement producers to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40% below the 2019 baseline levels by 2035, and to achieve zero net emissions by 2045. Since then, the industry has taken many innovative approaches to transition to a lower emissions

future, but to get to a zero emissions future, we must look beyond the energy sources required to produce and transport cementitious materials. An estimated 60% of emissions from cement production are released when heating limestone to produce clinker, regardless of energy source. This is where our scientists and engineers at Fortera are focused as we scale up cement decarbonization with our partners in the industry. Fortera has created a new kind of cement inspired by nature. Coral and seashells use CO2 as a cement ingredient to form hard calciumThe Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

Left: Two stage gas scrubber connected to blower with elevated clarifier. Above Left: Raw mined limestone feedstock. Above Right: Fortera-engineered reactive calcium carbonate.

based structures in the ocean. With more than 100,000 hours of research and development, and more than 100 global patents granted and pending, Fortera adapted this method into the scalable Fortera ReCarb Process® for making cement that uses CO2 instead of emitting it. Working with existing cement plants and quarries, we turn each ton of feedstock into a ton of cement through the remineralization of CO2. The production of Fortera cement is estimated to emit 70% less carbon dioxide than traditional cement. The Fortera team is now scaling up this lab-tested and field-validated carbon mineralization process within the CalPortland cement plant in Redding, California. “CalPortland is pleased to see construction of the Fortera plant progressing at our Redding facility,” said CalPortland Chief Operating Officer Steve Regis. “We’re excited to see how the ReAct™ product can best be utilized to achieve industry’s decarbonization goals.” In addition, the ReCarb Process fits into existing cement and lime plant infrastructure and distribution channels. The Fortera ReAct™ products that we produce are reactive forms of calcium carbonate known as vaterite. Fortera ReAct products work with current standards, regulations, and The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

applications as a standalone, mixed, or supplementary cementitious material. The Fortera carbon mineralization process also requires significantly lower kiln temperatures than portland cement and only requires limestone as the raw material. In addition, virtually any quality of limestone can be utilized, helping to extend the life and utilization of quarry reserves. Once commissioned, the commercial-scale Fortera ReCarb Redding Plant will be the world’s largest direct carbon mineralization plant, producing 15,000 tons of low-carbon cementitious material per year. After breaking ground last year, we’ve made tremendous progress in constructing the one-acre facility. The team tied-in directly to the kiln stack at CalPortland earlier this year, taking advantage of a planned maintenance cycle. The Fortera system pulls directly from the kiln stack and scrubs the flue gas using a proprietary solvent chemistry. No flue gas separation, filtration, or compression is needed, as industrial CO2 is mineralized into our products directly from the stack gas. Recently, the team also completed the design of the HMI for this first-of-its-kind plant. A series of sensing and process automation equipment will allow

plant operators to maintain optimal throughput, energy utilization, and feedstock efficiency with the push of a button from the on-site plant operations center. From the flue gas transport ducts to the absorber reactor, through the filter press and thermal drying stages of the process, the HMI provides plant operators with immediate access to system diagnostics and controls. Dozens of local workers have been involved in the construction of the Fortera plant in Redding, starting last year and continuing today. Once operational, the facility will rely on about 15 full-time employees and about as many contractors locally. Worldwide, we have over 70 employees, made up of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. The technology we’re deploying in Redding gives our industry partners an unparalleled degree of flexibility in achieving material performance standards while significantly reducing the emission profiles of cement. This will make locally produced, affordable low-carbon cement available in California in the near-term. Combined with renewable energy sources, and together with our industry partners, we’re paving the way to zero emissions for the cement industry. n 9

MATERIALS AND PRODUCTS

The Greening of Materials in California Buildings By Charley Rea, Vice President of Policy & Communications, CalCIMA

alifornia was the first state to adopt a green building code in 2007, but in regard to construction materials, the code has largely been sleepy and little used. That is all about to change. This past summer, the CA Building Standards Commission updated the code to add new mandatory provisions for cities and counties. The changes are aimed at lowering the carbon impact of construction materials. Specifically, concrete producers will soon need to know what the new code requires. The revitalized CalGreen Building Code will go into effect on July 1, 2024 for new buildings, schools, or alterations of over 100,000 square feet. Then, starting on Jan. 1, 2026, it will apply to new buildings or alterations over 50,000 square feet. There will be two primary compliance paths. One is for 10

buildings to conduct a whole building life cycle assessment that achieves a 10% reduction in the carbon impact of materials. A whole building life cycle assessment is a way to analyze all the components in a building up front before the building is built. Members supplying materials for LEED IV building projects are likely familiar with its use. There are software systems that can do this based on universal standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). This whole building life cycle assessment will be based on “…a reference baseline building of similar size, function, complexity, type of construction, material specification, and location.” The applicable building components are “footings and foundations, and structural columns, beams, walls, roofs, and floors.”

The second option is a prescriptive one focused on specific carbon reductions goals for concrete and other materials. This will be achieved through the submittal of environmental product declarations (EPD) that document the global warming potential (GWP) of a material. The EPDs would be submitted upfront, then updated ones would be required at the conclusion of construction. Under this option, the code specifies the global warming potential for each material based on 175% of established standards. For concrete, it is based on the regional average as published by the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA). For instance, 4,000 PSI concrete would need to meet a target of 566 kg CO2/m3. For concrete, there is actually a third option. To account for the various strengths, types, and uses of concrete in a building, the entirety of the concrete used The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

could be considered as one. So, in other words, concrete used for foundations, beams, flooring, etc. could all be considered as one for the purposes of meeting a GWP level. This is something concrete producers will want to be aware of if they are involved in upfront discussions with owners, contractors, architects, and engineers. The code would also allow code officials and builders to go beyond these provisions, through what are termed Tier I and Tier II voluntary options. These optional provisions would achieve 15 or 20% reductions in carbon respectively. For concrete under the prescriptive path, Tier 1 would be 150% of the regional NRMCA average and Tier 2 would be 100%. For 4,000 PSI concrete, this would be 485 kg CO2/m3 for Tier 1 and 385 kg CO2/m3 for Tier 2.

Beyond these new provisions for reduction in the carbon impact of building materials, the code was also updated in several ways to improve existing voluntary provisions regarding concrete. These changes, listed below, will help improve the opportunity to achieve low carbon concrete. • Allow an increase in the age of maturity from 28 to 42 or 56 days., per ASTM 31 / C 31. This offers the opportunity to reduce cement use in foundations or other applications where a quick set period is not required. • Adds reference to the ASTM and Caltrans standards that allow the use of returned fresh concrete. • Adds ground glass pozzolan and blended Supplementary

Cementitious Materials (SCM) as acceptable SCMs. • Removes reference to energy use at concrete plants, which did not belong in the building code. • Makes clear that both recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) and crushed concrete aggregate (CCA) are acceptable sources of recycled aggregate for use in concrete. • Adds clarity to the term “high early strength” concrete by referencing the definition in American Concrete Institute (ACI)’s Concrete Terminology. All-in-all, the new code changes reflect the continuing interest and opportunity for low carbon materials. n

• Utilizing Type 1L (HS) low carbon cement to reduce embodied carbon and CO2 emissions. • Providing innovative, high performance mix designs with third party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) available with every mix. • Incorporating a large fleet of bulk material haulers (aggregate and cement) and concrete mixers that run on renewable natural gas RNG, reducing GHG emissions. • Technically advanced, high production facilities providing superior quality and service throughout Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura Counties.

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The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

MINERALS

What’s Next in the Demand for Battery Capacity? By Wayne Palmer, Essential Minerals Association Editor’s Note: Minerals will be key to developing many products for green technology. California is fortunate to have one of the few and most important sources of critical minerals, the rare earth deposit at the Mountain Pass Mine in the Mojave Desert, operated by MP Materials. As batteries are the biggest growth sector for critical minerals and particularly the need for the mineral lithium– also found in California’s deserts–this article reviews future development in battery technology and the minerals that will be needed. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence recently noted that 401 new battery gigafactories are planned worldwide by 2030, totaling 9 terawatt hours of capacity. To put that into perspective, Tesla provided 9 terawatt hours of charging globally during all of 2022. Or even more simply, it equals 5,295,967 barrels of oil. The question is, what type of batteries will these factories produce? Lithium-based batteries will continue to dominate in the near future, but there are several new chemistries on the horizon that could disrupt the market. It's important to recognize that the future for batteries goes beyond just electric vehicles (EVs). Energy storage systems (ESSs) will store grid energy for use during times of peak demand as more renewables like wind and solar come online. Similarly, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) batteries back up the energy grid at facilities like data centers, which use a tremendous 12

amount of energy, require massive cooling systems, and simply cannot afford downtime because the world needs uninterrupted access to the internet. The demand for different battery chemistries is based on many factors. To achieve sufficient highway range, EVs require lighter batteries with high energy density. However, heavier, less energy-dense batteries work just fine in ESSs and UPS. Additionally, cost, safety, and ESG considerations factor in. For example, manufacturers are seeking alternatives to the cobalt used in almost all lithium-ion batteries. Cobalt is costly, toxic, and originates in countries with poor environmental, worker safety, and human rights practices, most notably the Congo. China refines Congolese ore and controls 76 percent of global supply. One major newcomer is sodiumion batteries, which are 24 percent to 32 percent cheaper than lithiumion batteries because they do not require cobalt, copper, lithium, or graphite. They have a longer lifespan and can operate in a greater range

of temperatures, making them more suitable for both cold and hot climates. They are safer than lithium-ion batteries, which are prone to combustion that is difficult to control. Sodium-ion energy density is lower, so the batteries are bigger and heavier. As a result, sodium-ion will appear in some EVs like e-bikes, e-scooters, and forklifts, but more so in stationary storage applications. Solid-state batteries promise higher energy densities and improved safety because they replace the flammable liquid electrolyte in a lithium battery with a solid electrolyte separator. Currently, there are three types of solid electrolytes: Polymer-based, oxide-based, and sulfide-based. Polymer-based currently dominates the market, but oxide-based likely will displace it soon. In 2023, for the first time, solid-state battery production will exceed two gigawatt hours, and Toyota claims it will roll out solid-state EVs as early as 2027, with a 745-mile range and charging time of just 10 minutes. There are others, like lithiumsulfur, metal-air, liquid antimony, and graphene-based chemistries, that will contribute to a broader mix of batteries to suit various needs. Such a broad mix will perpetuate demand for traditional materials like lithium and soda ash, while providing opportunities for new ones like salt and antimony to enter the picture. n

The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

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ASPHALT

Bringing Life Cycle Thinking into Pavement Decision-Making By John Harvey, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the UC Pavement Research Center (UCPRC), University of California, Davis

hen the modern road network was initially being conceptualized in the 1920s and 1930s, and methods of planning, designing, and building were being developed, the goals were to make pavements able to handle pneumatic-tired vehicles (automobiles and trucks) in all weather conditions and more safely, in other words to just get out of the mud! The system boundaries for thinking and decision-making about pavements have expanded as the pavement network has gotten bigger and more complex, and the consequences of that have also grown. System boundaries increased to thinking about better materials, new structures, network maintenance management, construction traffic delays, reconstruction and widening, environmental sustainability, and now resilience and social impacts. Cost has always been a consideration, but in the 1990s it was realized that the lowest initial cost project is not always the lowest life cycle cost project. The beginnings of life cycle thinking. Life-cycle thinking (LCT) is the process of evaluating the effects of making changes in a project, policy, or operation on the sustainability of a defined system across the life cycle of a product1. It starts with identifying goals and important sustainability metrics for decision making and selecting the life-cycle stages and processes to be evaluated. The entire life cycle is considered so that all consequences of decisions are included, and not just the initial impacts. LCT can be 14

Pavement life-cycle stages and example sustainability metrics that may be considered at each stage1.

used at various points in the life cycle to identify opportunities to improve the sustainability performance of products and pavements or to inform and guide decision makers setting priorities for change2. LCT works best when quantitative analysis is performed using the set of sustainability metrics identified at the start of the process for cost, environmental and social sustainability decisionmaking, and allows decision makers to look at improvement options while being informed about potential trade-offs and unintended consequences, either in different aspects of sustainability or between different life cycles, as shown in the pavement life cycle figure.

The key tools for life cycle quantification that we have are: • Life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) • Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), and a subset of LCA that only looks at material production called environmental product declarations (EPD) • Social LCA These tools are used to quantify the impacts and/or benefits of alternative decisions so that they can be compared. LCCA considers costs of all activities shown in the life cycle figure, from initial construction through the end of life, and often considers road use and The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

potentially other costs from pavement in addition to agency costs. LCCA is the most mature of the three tools, with the important remaining issue being how to determine the “discount rate” used to account for the time value of money resulting in a Net Present Value summing of all life cycle costs. Environmental LCA, often just called LCA, has been advancing rapidly over the past 15 years. It similarly considers all the activities through the life cycle, including interactions of pavements with vehicles and other effects. The data required are more complex than for LCCA, and developing standardized data definitions and use of data, and creation of high quality data bases are several of the major challenges. EPDs are LCA but only for the material production part of the life cycle shown in the figure. EPDs therefore do not consider the full

life cycle, and if materials are to be compared with each other based on EPDs they must be comparable in terms of the expected performance in the use stage, their maintenance requirements, and their end-of-life. The same challenges exist for EPDs as for full life cycle LCA, however, for both there has been recent rapid improvement such that their use is now feasible. The improvement needs to continue. A white paper summarizing the challenges of EPDs and recommendations for improvement has recently been published by the National Center for Sustainable Transportation3. Caltrans has been using a customized web-based version of the FHWA LCCA tool RealCost since 2006. Caltrans is currently implementing a new web-based environmental LCA tool called eLCAP. Social LCA is the least developed area and no tools for

pavement are currently available. S-LCA can consider things such as how equitable distributed good pavements that support quality of life between different neighborhoods, and how equitably distributed the impacts of pavement materials production, construction, and the effects of highways are distributed. n FHWA Tech Brief: Building Blocks of Life-Cycle Thinking, https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/ sustainability/pubs/hif19027.pdf 1

FHWA Tech Brief: Life Cycle Assessment of Pavements, https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/ sustainability/hif15001.pdf 2

https://ncst.ucdavis.edu/research-product/ recommended-approach-use-cradle-gateenvironmental-product-declarations-epds 3

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The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

SUSTAINABILITY

Finding Green in the Blacktop: Lower Carbon Asphalt is Here By Edgard Hitti, Granite Construction Co.

ave you ever wondered what Caltrans uses to make asphalt? Asphalt is made from the leftovers from refining crude oil – basically the sticky goo that is left on the bottom of the barrel. It would seem rather easy, or even natural, to melt recycled plastic waste back into paving asphalt— after all, it’s the same crude oil in asphalt that we use to make so many plastic products. However, returning recycled plastic to a usable state is difficult, and previous efforts to use waste plastic in this way have led to pavement that is brittle and cracks easily – not desirable characteristics for a road. However, there’s a way to make asphalt in a sustainable or environmentally friendly way. Researchers had been working on this issue for years without much success, until now. Tom Pyle, State Pavement Engineer at Caltrans, noted that Caltrans has expressed interest in trying a new low carbon asphalt mix that displaced some virgin base binder with recycled plastics. However, Caltrans previously tried plasticized pavement and was cautious about moving forward, having seen the pavement fail to meet specifications. Granite Construction had previously used this plasticized asphalt to pave a Target department store parking lot, which held up through winter weather without cracking. With this information, a joint project between Granite and Caltrans 16

The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

was identified to test the product on Highway 99 in Sacramento. Caltrans’ District 3 director Amarjeet Benipal not only supported testing the plasticized asphalt on the shoulder of this busy highway, but he also wanted it placed in the truck lane to be tested thoroughly by the stress of constant large truck traffic. With this support, Granite and Caltrans assembled a team. The strong partnership between Granite and District 3 Construction was the foundation of the team, which also included HQ teams from the Division of Maintenance Pavement Program and the Division of Engineering Services, Materials Engineering and Testing Services (Translab). Testing began immediately to develop an asphalt pavement mix

design for adding 10% recycled plastic and 25% RAP following section 39 standard specification. The plans and contract change orders were agreed upon to make the paving happen. In May 2022, the shoulder of Highway 99 was paved. The plasticized asphalt was successfully produced at the asphalt plant and placed through a paving machine. The pavement looked and performed above expectations, with three times better crack resistance versus the control mix. In early August 2022, the 10% plasticized pavement was successfully placed across all lanes of Highway 99. After several months of thousands of trucks pounding the pavement, hot and cold weather, and record precipitation, the

risk of installing the plasticized pavement was proven to be worthwhile. There is no rutting or cracking, even in a section of roadway that was subjected to flooding during a levee breach. The performance of the new mix has exceeded expectations. Executing this test of lower carbon asphalt was a true team effort between a contractor innovating new materials and a department that is willing to look for new solutions. Countless technicians, engineers and inspectors played a role in making the 500-foot-long test section a success. This new plasticized pavement represents a first step in developing materials and techniques that will lead to more sustainable transportation construction. n

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Q&A WITH POLICY LEADER

Q&A with Tim Greutert Caltrans’ State Materials Engineer

By Charley Rea, Vice President of Policy & Communications, CalCIMA Tim Greutert is Caltrans’ State Materials Engineer. He has been with Caltrans since 1998, serving various roles including Chief of Quality Assurance and Source Inspection, Project Manager of Geotechnical Services, and Chief of Materials Engineering and Testing Services. Tim joins CalCIMA for a Q&A focusing on the Materials Engineering and Testing Services (METS). Q – What is your overall vision for the Materials Engineering and Testing Services (METS) office and what you want it to achieve? A – My vision for METS is that we are the go-to team for Caltrans that proactively solves materials challenges. We do that by focusing on our strategic priorities: 1. Integrate and align project delivery and corporate materials engineering products and services across Caltrans 2. Ensure METS operations and decision processes are effective 3. Manage the department's materials data to improve our acceptance decisions 4. Sustain our materials engineering expertise and knowledge through teams rather than individuals 5. Create a culture that sustains an energized and engaged workforce 6. Foster innovation in materials The METS team is looking to improve Caltrans materials management practices and develop 18

a workforce better prepared to take on the challenges of our time. Technical skills are a focus, but also communication, process development and collaboration skills are critical. CalCIMA has been a great Caltrans partner through the Caltrans Pavement and Materials Partnering Committee (PMPC) and the Joint Training and Certification Program (JTCP). Through this continued partnership, I have a high level of confidence in achieving this vision. Q – With a big focus on sustainability and lower carbon in materials, what do you see as METS’ role and initiatives it is undertaking? A – One of the Caltrans’ Strategic Goals is “Lead Climate Action.” Materials play a key role in greenhouse gas emissions. METS has been coordinating with other government agencies and with our industry partners to responsibly assess the use of environmental product declarations (EPD) to gauge the impacts of materials on our environment as well as meet legislative mandates. We have also been part of ushering in alternative materials like Portland limestone cement, blended cements, and increased use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled asphalt shingles (RAS). A key focus for Caltrans with regard to materials is reducing our carbon impacts while concurrently maximizing the life of our infrastructure, leading to taxpayer value.

Tim Greutert, State Materials Engineer, Caltrans

Q – How is METS headquarters working to coordinate with the districts and regional labs? A – We very much value the knowledge and experience the District labs have with their local materials. When we get good feedback, we know where and how to focus our standards improvements. One-way METS engages is through the District Materials Engineer quarterly meeting. The purpose of that meeting is to listen to feedback, improve corporate products, share knowledge, facilitate project delivery, and maintain quality. Most PMPC products are routed through this team to improve implementation of new standards and processes. METS also manages the Independent Assurance Program for Caltrans which brings consistency not only to the district The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

and regional labs, but also the private industry through consistent evaluation of technicians and laboratories. A third way we engage with the districts is at the project level through the METS Representatives. These are METS Liaisons in the Districts with the main focus of helping project teams solve materials issues. The METS Representatives link our main lab (Translab) services and expertise to projects.

but also being used as part of our asset management program. If we see unexpected materials behavior in the future, we can then look back at the installation test results, sources, etc. to identify trends and improve our project programming decisions. The tools we put in place today will contribute to better decisions in the future. I also think that artificial intelligence will begin to play a larger role in a future much closer than we truly appreciate.

Q – METS has an initiative to expand the Data Interchange for Materials Engineering (DIME) statewide, and it is proposed for use in a lot of applications. How is this going? Where do you see it ultimately being?

Q – METS oversees various authorized material lists and pre qualifications programs. What changes do you see in this area?

A – Caltrans recently required state staff on projects to submit testing data for five asphalt and five concrete tests into DIME (Construction Procedure Directive #22-12). All Districts are beginning to submit their testing data. We are responding to implementation challenges and feedback by conducting DIME Office Hours and training webinars. We are consistently seeing an uptick in usage month over month. In the future, we see materials data not only being submitted by Contractor and QC personnel,

A – At METS we see a lot of value in proactively evaluating materials based on risk profile, industry reliability, sources of error, etc. Prequalification helps reduce the risk of things going poorly in the construction phase. Some great examples include the cement and asphalt certificate of compliance programs, aggregates, and warm mix technologies. METS works closely with materials suppliers to identify and help resolve their challenges in real time. There are many examples, during the pandemic especially, where we collaborated with suppliers to find the best solutions to deliver for the taxpayer.

As we evaluate and incorporate more performance-based specifications, including balanced mix design, we expect there will be some adjustments. We also will continue to leverage national efforts like the National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (NTPEP) to manage materials quality in advance of projects. Q – For both concrete and asphalt, performance specifications will be important to achieving low carbon materials. What do you see as the METS role? A – METS is a partner with industry and other Caltrans units through the PMPC. I see PMPC as a primary engine to decide and implement appropriate strategies that are biddable and protect taxpayer value. METS also engages at the national level with FHWA and other state agencies to understand the latest practices. I do want to end this discussion by expressing my appreciation to CalCIMA and its association members not only for helping in PMPC, but for helping Caltrans provide a safe, reliable transportation network that serves all people and respects the environment. n

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER! Visit our education conference website

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ENVIRONMENTAL

Environmental Product Declarations: Breaking Down the Basics By: Brian Davis, Climate Earth

ore than likely the term Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is familiar to those in the industry; often described as a nutrition label. An easy-to-understand comparison that stresses the quantitative, comparable, and verifiable nature of these documents. Simply put, an EPD is a way to quantify and report the environmental impacts of a material based on a Life Cycle Assessment. LCA is an ISO standards-based method for analyzing the materials, energy use and emissions of a product. Currently in the United States construction EPDs calculate Cradle to Gate embodied impacts. Therefore, your A1: material, A2: transportation, and A3: manufacturing data will need to be gathered to start the Life Cycle Assessment. Now that we have dissected what an EPD is and understand how they are generated, let’s dive into why EPDs are essential. The Federal Government, through GSA (General Services Admin), published a table of maximum limits on GWP (Global Warming Potential) for concrete used on publicly funded projects. At the State level, we see even more legislation passing which requires EPDs for construction. In April of 2023, a baseline reported 19 States have set a goal to demonstrate, assess, or institutionalize the use of EPDs. By 2025, this number will grow to 35. EPD data itself is the driving force behind key industry changes. Legislation at the Federal and State level is showing the adoption of EPDs as necessary to continue to compete. GWP is now the metric of 20

Baseline (April 2023) AK

OR ID

DE MD

NH MA RI CT

AR MS

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Goal (May 2025) AK

OR ID

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NH MA RI CT

AR MS

Federal Lands Highway Puerto Rico US Virgin islands Washington DC

Baseline (April 2023)

30 21

Institutionalized Assessment Demonstration Development Not Implemented

Baseline: 3 STICS in Demonstration, Assessment, or Institutionalized Goal (May 2025)

19 16

Goal: 19 STICS achieve Demonstration, Assessment, or Institutionalized

The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

GSA IRA limits for Low Embodied Carbon Concrete - May 16, 2023

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Specified concrete strength class (compressive strength [f1c] in pounds per square inch [PSI])

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Top 40% Limit

Better Than Average Limit

≤2499

228

261

277

3000

257

291

318

4000

284

326

352

5000

305

357

382

6000

319

374

407

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321

362

402

Add 30% to these numbers for GWP limits where high early strength1 concrete mixes are required for technical reasons.

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Brian Davis came to Climate Earth in August 2022 with diverse experience managing an array of projects in the construction industry. His background includes work in Research and Development and Technical Services for Oldcastle in which he focused on DOT, Third party testing and LEED submittals. Learn more at climateearth.com

TRANSPORTATION

CalCIMA Truck ID Program Celebrates 25 Years

Anniversary

By Charley Rea, Vice President of Policy & Communications, CalCIMA

hat do you do when privatelyowned dump trucks hauling aggregates from mines have 6 or 7 different numbers showing on the truck? How do scale houses know which number correctly identifies the truck and records its weight? How do you keep billing straight when truck numbers are mixed up and inconsistent? Well, that was the situation aggregate producers in the Sacramento region found themselves in the mid-1990s. Business was booming. Hundreds of trucks owned by hundreds of individuals and companies were running through plants each day. Each plant in the region had a different way to identify them. That meant there were 6 or 7 stickers on each truck depending on how many different sites that truck served. It was a confusing mess! Finally, it had reached a point where it needed a solution. Working through one of CalCIMA’s predecessor associations, the Construction Materials Association of California (CMAC), Brian Phillipe with Western Aggregates in Marysville (now Teichert Materials) and Dale Evans with Granite Construction led an initiative to approach truckers on whether a better system could be devised. After several meetings, it was decided that a numbering system could be developed that would assign one unique number to each truck. Labels could have 22

a standardized format and a designated place to be located on the truck cab. It would facilitate moving trucks from plants to project sites, reduce confusion, and greatly reduce billing errors. Thus, in 1998, the CMAC Truck ID Program was born, and is now known as the CalCIMA Truck ID Program. Part of the beauty of the program is that it works without excessive administrative oversight. CalCIMA orders the labels. The aggregate producer requests batches of the numbers—orders of 500 to 1,000 labels are common. Then, the numbers are simply given to new trucks as they come through the plants. There is relatively no hassle for the drivers. Importantly, no number is ever repeated; each truck has a unique number. The scale houses record the number in their database, so each time that a truck picks up a load of sand or gravel, there is only one number to look for, it is easy to see, the weigh information is recorded, and billing is processed. “The Truck ID program eliminated billing issues and

excessive time researching which customer and/or project was supposed to be billed for the load due to an incorrect truck number used,” said Evans. “The numbering system also reduced truckers’ confusion on which truck number applied at the plant they were hauling from.” Importantly, too, the Division of Weights and Measures has reviewed the program a couple of times and found it improves industry operations and “…benefits both the aggregate and trucking industries…” They do have the important reminder that the weighmaster certificate records the correct combination of truck and trailer. “If your company or plant is not in the Truck ID program yet, let me know,” says Nicole Ross, Operations Coordinator for CaCIMA. “It is easy to set-up and requires zero maintenance. Simply assign the ID number to the truck, slap on the corresponding sticker, and you’re good to go until the truck is retired.” The foresight of industry leaders more than 25 years ago is paying off. So far, 60,000 numbers have been assigned to trucks. The Truck ID program operates in nearly 20 counties and 40 aggregate plants, ranging from Butte to Kern County and the Bay Area to Inyo County. To learn more about the Truck ID program, contact Nicole Ross at nross@calcima.org n The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

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The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

CONCRETE INITIATIVES

CalCIMA Issues Concrete Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality By Charley Rea, Vice President of Policy & Communications, CalCIMA

here is a lot of good news about concrete and carbon reduction. From 2014 to 2021, the carbon impact of concrete nationwide has been reduced by 21%. While these are impressive strides by concrete producers, there are calls from many quarters to further reduce the carbon impact of concrete and its constituents. These are a few of the initiatives…The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) requires state Departments of Transportation to develop Carbon Reduction Programs for transportation…The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) authorizes U.S.EPA to develop standards for carbon reduction in materials, via global warming potential (GWP) numbers…The U.S. General Services Administration has a pilot program for carbon reduction at specified GWP levels…The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Every Day Counts initiative requires transparency in carbon reduction through use of Environmental Product Declarations….California has updated its Green Building Code specifically to achieve lower carbon in construction materials… The California Air Resources Board is tasked with achieving net zero cement by 2045, and a 40% reduction in all construction materials by 2035. The list goes on and on…. Concrete & Carbon This inevitably leads to questions about the best way to reduce carbon in concrete. A recent report by CalCIMA, Achieving Net Zero Concrete in California: Pathways, 24

Opportunities, & Barriers, helps provide answers. The report provides an overview of how concrete is produced and the producer’s place within the construction sector. Then, it provides an analysis of the opportunities and challenges, including those that rely on policy changes and those on technology, market development, and cooperation among players. It also discusses the relative impact of each and time frame for achieving. First, the report makes clear that the manufacture of concrete itself comprises a very small portion of the global warming contribution to the final product. The manufacture of cement—the powdery material used as a binding agent among rocks—makes up only 10 - 15% of the volume in concrete but accounts for 87% of the carbon impact. Cement is produced in separate locations and through separate processes than concrete. The remaining carbon impact is attributed to energy use at the concrete plant. While producers have introduced energy efficiencies, reduction in energy impacts will come primarily from California electrifying the grid. Solutions The report then explains opportunities for carbon reduction. One is how concrete producers are in a unique position to influence design, construction, and material decisions. This is because concrete producers are in the middle of the construction chain, between supply of raw materials and construction. They can inform project owners, architects, engineers, and

construction companies on the options for supplying or placing concrete with a lower carbon impact. Cement producers are also assisting by beginning to supply lower carbon cement, which reduces the carbon impact by 10% or more. These low carbon cements are usually a blend of cement with another ingredient— like limestone, clay, or natural pozzolan--that reduce the amount of cement. The most common of these blended cements is Portland limestone cement. Caltrans, after extensive testing, approved the use of blended cements for its projects. Similarly, concrete producers can make use of cement replacements, or supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), when producing concrete mixes at their plants. The most common of these are fly ash and slag, and they reduce the amount of cement needed. While fly ash has been commonly used for 30 years, and often at amounts of up to 40 or 50% in a concrete mix, the sources are distant and availability fluctuating. Increasingly, home grown solutions, like natural pozzolans and recycled glass, are becoming available for producers. Often unrecognized is that concrete plants are literally working laboratories that are constantly trying different combinations of ingredients—cement, rock, sand, recycled material, and SCMs--to improve quality and reduce the carbon impact of concrete. The more flexibility their knowledgeable personnel have in mixing ingredients to achieve desired The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

results for strength, durability, permeability, shrinkage, elasticity, and as well as carbon, the more they can achieve lower carbon materials. Therefore, performance-based specifications are the most important policy change needed to allow concrete producers to achieve lower carbon. Most current specifications are prescriptive, and they inhibit lower carbon concrete. Most often, these formalistic and

prescriptive specifications require more cement than is needed, are trapped in time, and can’t fluctuate with new knowledge, new ingredients, and improved technology. Performance specifications are key to policy change. There are also several ways that the construction process itself can lower carbon. If projects allow a longer set time for concrete, less cement is needed. Construction

projects can also be more precise in the amount of concrete they order. Currently, about 5% more concrete is ordered than needed. This means a waste in energy and raw materials in the ingredients and concrete production process. Last, increased use of recycled concrete materials is another way to reduce carbon impacts and waste for construction projects. While there are challenges, there are many opportunities to reduce carbon in concrete. But, it will require willingness to change among specifiers and code makers, and upfront cooperation among construction firms, architects, and engineers with concrete producers to achieve optimal solutions. Learn about these opportunities and more in the report, which can be found on CalCIMA’s website at https://www.calcima.org/files/ CALCIMA_Roadmap.pdf n

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The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

EVENT - PLANT TOUR

WOCIMA Tours Vulcan Materials Company, Chula Vista

By Julia Maldonado, Communications Coordinator, CalCIMA ALL ABOARD THE TROLLEY! On August 24th, the Women of CalCIMA (WOCIMA) members gathered in Chula Vista to tour Vulcan Materials Company’s quarry for its second quarterly facility tour. WOCIMA members were met with a safety briefing from Vulcan’s Manager of Government and Community Relations Barbara Goodrich-Welk, Plant Manager Steve Hallmark, and Plant Supervisor Bradley Sisson. Following the briefing, WOCIMA members hopped on a trolley and traveled around the plant, with plant manager Hallmark serving as their guide. WOCIMA made two stops: One gave a view of the Chula Vista operations and conveyor systems, and one stop within “Rock Mountain,” a mountainous area 26

full of rocks that are continuously being crushed by Vulcan, and will soon become more like “Rock Hole.” Vulcan’s water in the pit is used for washing material, with 80% of the water being recycled and used for dust suppression. Including predecessor companies, this site has been operating for over 100 years. Hallmark discussed with the group that a big priority for the plant is to

Above: Traveling by trolley, the Women of CalCIMA took a tour of Vulcan Materials Company’s Chula Vista Plant.

keep the neighbors safe, along with providing education about the industry. The Chula Vista plant is located close to the Village of Escaya and the Residences of Côta Vera, with The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

Above: Overview of some of the Vulcan Materials Company’s Chula Vista Plant operations.

the Côta Vera neighbors being only 40 feet from the area where blasting occurs. Having a relationship with the community is extremely important to Vulcan not only to keep them safe during operations, but also to educate them about who Vulcan is, what they do, and why its operations are important to providing the materials essential to building our infrastructure and connecting our communities. The property’s neighbors have welcomed Vulcan’s plant manager

into their communications network through social media and an app specifically created for the neighbors to communicate with one another. Hallmark is able to notify members of a blast, and makes himself available for questions. The home builders of this new community share information about Vulcan in their sales kit to new homeowners. This proactive outreach and Vulcan’s willingness to be accessible has proven to be helpful with keeping the neighbors informed.

“One neighbor said,’There’s a mine there? That’s so cool!’” Hallmark recalls. Vulcan also has in-person opportunities for its neighbors, including a community day for those in Escaya and Côta Vera. Happening at the end of October, residents can take a quarry tour, go trick or treating, learn more about the quarry at different stations, and much more. Thank you Vulcan Materials Company for hosting this guided tour! n

VULCAN MATERIALS COMPANY PROMOTING CAREER AWARENESS OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS This year, Vulcan Materials Company sponsored two local high schools as they competed in the Construction Industry Education Foundation (CIEF) Design Build Competition. Vulcan sponsored Rialto High School in San Bernardino and William Daylor High School in Elk The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

Grove. They also provided $3,500 in scholarships to students who plan to advance their careers in the construction industry. Vulcan would like to thank their San Bernardino team and their SacAgg team for sponsoring these students and also want to thank Bonnie Ostini (Sales), Maria

Gutierrez (POA), Gage Miller (Sales), and Abbey Sanderson (CR-GR) for spending time assessing the design-build skills of the teams as well as presenting checks to these hard-working and ambitious students!

SOCIAL LICENSE TO OPERATE

Earn Your Social License to Operate with CalCIMA By Julia Maldonado, Communications Coordinator, CalCIMA

ur industry is rooted in safety, health, environmental stewardship, and community engagement. This is work that we have always done, and will continue to do, as we deliver the essential materials and minerals our state needs to thrive. But in today’s rapid-fire digital communications age and everincreasing regulatory and environmental expectations, we know that we have to do more to communicate the value and vital nature of our work to external audiences. If we don’t tell our story, who will? The production of sand, gravel, stone, asphalt, concrete, and essential minerals is critical to California’s present and future. CalCIMA members all operate under clear permit and license requirements set forward by local, state, and federal regulatory bodies, which are necessary for our ability to operate. But there is another type of license, governed not by one regulatory body but by public perception, community leaders, journalists, lawmakers, and more, that we also need to operate successfully in our communities. This is a Social License to Operate: The ongoing acceptance of your company or facility’s standard business practices and operating procedures. In order to both establish and maintain our collective Social License to Operate, we must be proactive, engaged communicators with our audiences and stakeholders. Everyone, from senior executives to operations and beyond, has a role to play in building trust, fostering positive, collaborative community 28

relationships, and communicating about the great work being done throughout our industry and member company operations. To support these efforts, CalCIMA launched the “Your Social License . . . and Registration, Please” Stakeholder Development Series in August of this year. The training series includes 8 sessions on stakeholder engagement, including: 1. Plant Tours, Sharing Your Story 2. Deliberate Philanthropy, Meeting Community and Company Objectives 3. Getting the Most Out of Your Local, State and National Associations 4. Redefining Ourselves and Sharing Our Story 5. Building a Strategic Community Engagement Plan 6. Web/Social Media Content and Promotion 7. Stakeholder Development & Engagement 101 8. Meeting with Lawmakers 101

These sessions will discuss communications tools and strategies to connect with priority stakeholder groups and create clear, open lines of dialogue with key groups. From identifying stakeholders, hosting plant tours, and communicating with lawmakers to developing an elevator pitch and effectively using digital and social media to communicate your story, these sessions are for anyone interested in proactively telling our industry story. Our stakeholders need to know just how essential our operations are to our infrastructure, environment, communities, and economy. Maintaining a Social License to Operate is not only important for continued operations at individual facilities today, but important to guaranteeing the future of our industry tomorrow and well into the future. To participate in a future Social License to Operate Stakeholder Development Series session, please visit calcima.org/slo. We hope to see you there. n

Future trainings • Building a Strategic Community Engagement Plan • Web/Social Media Content and Promotion

Redefining Ourselves and Sharing our Story (Education Conference)

• Stakeholder Development & Engagement 101 • Meeting with Lawmakers 101

The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

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NATIONAL NEWS

National Association News ESSENTIAL MINERALS ASSOCIATION (EMA) Industry Update EMA delivered comments to the Bureau of Land Management highlighting the negative impact the proposed Conservation and Landscape Health rule would have on mining operators who lease land from the federal government. The proposed rule exceeds BLM’s authority, goes against the multiple use concept the Bureau is based upon, institutes a “pay for play” system, and would significantly curtail mining on federal lands. EMA is also preparing to host the 2023 Fall Conference & Fly-In in Washington, DC, October 17-19. With an agenda packed with opportunities to hear from officials in Congress and the Administration, the conference is the mineral industry’s annual event to amplify your voice in Washington! The meeting is open to EMA members and any prospective members (we offer a one-time complimentary registration for prospects). Members can register online at essentialminerals.org. Prospective members should reach out to Chris Greissing at chrisgreissing@ essentialminerals.org. NATIONAL ASPHALT PAVEMENT ASSOCIATION (NAPA) GHG Inventory Provides Baseline for Getting to Net Zero In our industry-wide effort to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, establishing a baseline— published in GHG Emissions Inventory for Asphalt Mix Production in the United States (NAPA SIP-106) —informs how we’ll reach the goal of net zero outlined in The Road Forward. In 2019, GHG emissions associated with U.S. asphalt mix production equaled 0.3% of all U.S. GHG emissions. Compared to transportation emissions from fossil fuel combustion (27.8%), our industry

is doing well. Through innovation, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement, we can do better. “Publishing this report puts the asphalt pavement industry at the forefront of transparency among carbon emitters,” said NAPA President & CEO Audrey Copeland, Ph.D., P.E. “We’re demonstrating our commitment to doing better by taking stock of where we are and identifying proven and innovative strategies to reduce carbon emissions.” The report identifies what can be achieved using existing strategies and technologies such as RAP, WMA, and alternative fuels for plant operations. Increased implementation of such measures could further reduce emissions by up to 24% relative to 2019. “This report provides clear direction on what the industry should be doing today, as well as what the industry could do in the future, if the identified obstacles can be overcome,” said Ron Sines, P.E., Vice President, Sustainability & Decarbonization, CRH Americas Materials, Inc. Future innovations may include carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), use of carbon sequestering bio-based materials, use of local recycled materials and alternative fuels for trucking, and technologies that reduce burner fuel consumption. NATIONAL STONE, SAND & GRAVEL ASSOCIATION (NSSGA) NSSGA Quarterly Update NSSGA had a record-breaking 330 attendees in Washington, D.C. for its annual Legislative & Policy Forum. The meeting included multiple keynote speakers, committee meetings and the NSSGA awards ceremonies. Members from NAPA and NRMCA also joined for the industry hill day to advocate for our shared priorities, conducting more than 260 meetings with their

respective representatives. The key hill priorities included the ask to: pass key transportation legislation, keep infrastructure funding flowing, remove harmful red-tape impending materials suppliers, support the future of construction and mining professionals and reform our outdated immigration system, and align MSHA’s new proposed silica standard with OSHA’s. NATIONAL READY MIXED CONCRETE ASSOCIATION (NRMCA) NRMCA Revising IW-EPD and Benchmark Report NRMCA is revising the IndustryWide Environmental Product Declaration (IW EPD) and Benchmark Report for Concrete in 2023 and invites all concrete producers to participate. NRMCA published previous versions in 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2021 and will revise it in 2023 to ensure the latest environmental data are included per the standards and regulations. The reasons you should participate include: • EPDs are required in LEED, Buy Clean regulations, and in Carbon Credit programs. • The standards and regulations require you to compare your impacts to the industry average. • You must provide data to the IW EPD to compare themselves to the industry average. • Concrete contributes significantly to LEED and EPDs help design teams meet the requirements. • By participating, you demonstrate leadership in environmental stewardship. • Participating companies will be able to compete in the green building marketplace. To participate in NRMCA IW EPD v4, please download and complete the application form located at www.NRMCA.org/EPD. n

The Conveyor • 2023 Fall Issue

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