Concrete Products

AUG 2015

Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete focusing on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics.

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24 • August 2015 www.concreteproducts.com BRIEFS ORGANIZATIONS Global public health organization NSF International, Ann Arbor, Mich., is among the first organizations to be recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a program operator for prod- uct category rules (PCR) development and environmental product declarations (EPD) verification. As a PCR and EPD program operator, NSF International will help meet growing demand for standardization of sci- ence-based environmental data, reporting and verification. EPD are increasingly used across many industries to enable material suppliers and product manufacturers to bring transparent environmental data to customers. EPD spec- ifications are established by a PCR, which is created by a committee of interested stake- holders and defines how to conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA) for a product group. In the building industry, EPD can assist architects and designers with determining specific product's environmental impact within its category as well as to meet green building rating system criteria in LEED v4 and the latest Green Globes edition. The ANSI accreditation process included on-site and remote audits that assessed NSF International's policies and procedures, and reviewed PCR published and EPD verified under the program. Prior to earning accredi- tation, the organization participated in the ANSI pilot program, which was designed to bring the PCR and EPD process into compli- ance with (International Organization for Standardization) ISO 14020 and 14025 stan- dards, as well as ISO/IEC 17065, Conformity assessment—Requirements for bodies certi- fying products, processes and services. NSF helps companies build a portfolio of sustainable products and spans the com- plete PCR/LCA/EPD process by supporting PCR development, verifying LCA and EPD data, and providing third-party verification of final EPD reports. The NSF National Cen- ter for Sustainability Standards develops PCRs and American National Standards in sustainability for a wide range of product categories, including chemicals, building products and materials. "Demand for standardized environmen- tal impact information is growing quickly in many industries around the globe. Earning ANSI accreditation as a program operator demonstrates strength and leadership in developing PCRs and verifying EPDs that bring quality, science-based reporting that is essential for environmentally-minded decision making in many industries and in the building industry in particular," says National Center for Sustainability Standards Director Jessica Evans. The ANSI accreditation is concurrent with the addition of NSF sustainability standards for stone and other materials in the 2015 International Green Construction Code (IgCC). With the inclusion of these standards, architects, designers, engineers and others involved in the green building industry now have a wider selection of cer- tified, IgCC-accepted sustainable building materials. The IgCC is developed by the Interna- tional Code Council with Cooperating Spon- sors the American Institute of Architects, ASTM International, ASHRAE, Illuminating Engineering Society and U.S. Green Building Council. It is the first model code to include sustainability measures for the project and site—from design through construction to certificate of occupancy. The code helps make buildings more efficient, reduces waste and has a positive impact on health, safety and community welfare. Major auditor NSF attains accreditation for PCR development, EPD verification ASTM SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE STANDARDIZES WATER STEWARDSHIP With an eye to a regulator, design professional and environmentalist user base, the new ASTM Inter- national Subcommittee E60.07 on Water Use and Conservation will target standards supporting sustainability and sustainable development of water-related products and processes. ASTM Committee E60 on Sustainability Chair Michael Schmeida says E60.07 will a) address a wide range of issues related to the environmental, social, economic and other attributes of water; and, b) acquire, promote and disseminate high-quality technical knowledge to stimulate research in and the development of specifications associated with water use. "Water sustainability is a major, growing concern for all aspects of society: business, public health [and] food," he adds. "The time for this subcommittee has come, and I applaud the E60 executive committee for elevating ASTM's work in this area." Chairing E60.07 is Rick Layton of Haines, Jones & Cadbury, a Bentonville, Ark.-based plumbing products distributor. A longtime ASTM member, he is affiliated with organizations dedicated to water standards and code development, and has overseen efforts surrounding residential wastewa- ter, rainwater quality and building-water stewardship and reclamation. The subcommittee will be positioned to pursue standards development in areas ranging from fixture efficiency in homes to "net-zero" water use to hydraulic fracturing in energy resource extraction.

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