Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute revises Industry-Wide EPD

Sources: Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, Schaumburg, Ill.; CP staff

The Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI) has released Industry-Wide Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for Fabricated Steel Reinforcement Bar used in reinforced concrete construction, posted here.

Declaration is posted at www.crsi.org

The document updates a 2017 declaration; averages data from five companies and 19 bar mills, plus 10 fabricators and 17 shops; and, covers product defined by ASTM A615/A615M, Standard Specification for Deformed and Plain Carbon-Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement, and A706/A706M Standard Specification for Deformed and Plain Low-Alloy Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement.

Aware of the increasing interest in transparent reporting of construction material or product cradle-to-gate environmental performance, CRSI aims to demonstrate members’ sustainability leadership, underscored by their a) output of reinforcing bars bearing more than 97 percent recycled content, and b) central role in the 70 million-plus tons of steel scrap the U.S. recycles annually. The Institute evaluated the environmental profile of fabricated concrete reinforcing steel by conducting a Life Cycle Assessment of bar milling and forming, yielding the new IW EPD with cradle-to-gate metrics. The assessment was conducted according to UL Environment Product Category Rules (PCR) Part A: Life Cycle Assessment Calculation Rules and Report Requirements and Part B: Designated Steel Construction Product EPD Requirements (UL Environment, 2018, 2020).