NRMCA Joins NEU as Allied Organization Continuing Focus on Developing Low Carbon Concrete
Alexandria, VA – November 22, 2022
The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) is now an allied organization of NEU: An American Concrete Institute (ACI) Center of Excellence that collaborates on education, research and adoption of low carbon materials and technologies for carbon neutral concrete.
NRMCA members started their journey toward carbon neutrality in 2009 by adopting a strategy for reducing environmental impacts of concrete, including reducing carbon footprint and other impacts such as energy and water use, waste and increased recycled content. Members subsequently committed to more aggressive carbon reduction goals in 2012 by adopting the Architecture 2030 Challenge for Embodied Carbon which states a goal of carbon neutrality of building products by 2050. In 2021, NRMCA members announced they lowered their carbon footprint by 21% since 2014. NRMCA used Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to set benchmarks in 2014 and measure progress periodically to track its drive to carbon neutrality through education, research and innovation.
Earlier this year, the American Concrete Institute (ACI) announced the launch of NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete. NEU aims to collaborate globally to drive research, education, awareness and adoption of carbon neutral materials and technologies in the industry. Additional core functions include technology acceleration, coordination with ACI committees, technology transfer and professional development, and technology assessment and validation.
“NEU envisions a concrete industry where all stakeholders have access to technologies and the knowledge needed to effectively and safely produce and place carbon neutral concrete,” said NEU Executive Director Drew Burns. “Ready mixed concrete makes up about 75% of concrete produced in the U.S. each year, so having NRMCA collaborating with us on developing new technologies to reduce carbon footprint is essential to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050”.
“Adopting innovative products and technologies that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete while maintaining high performance means we can continue to build energy-efficient and disaster-resilient structures with concrete, but with a lower carbon footprint,” added Lionel Lemay, NRMCA executive vice president of structures and sustainability. “We look forward to collaborating with NEU to accelerate our progress to carbon neutrality.”
To learn more about NEU’s mission for a carbon neutral concrete industry, visit www.neuconcrete.org. To learn more about NRMCA’s sustainability initiatives, visit www.nrmca.org/sustainability.