Development of Process to Lower Global Warming Potential of Construction Materials

Status: Complete
Report Date: 08/04/2025

Summary:

Advances in life cycle assessment (LCA) have set the stage to develop methods that meet global warming potential (GWP) reduction targets for construction materials, specifically, using instruments such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPD). EPD convey GWP information, are mix and concrete plant specific, and often produced by industry. The information in EPD need to be characterized and aligned with MnDOT construction specifications. A critical challenge is to collaborate with industry partners in promoting the fair and consistent use of EPD to inform the bidding and procurement process. The objective of this research is to provide technical assistance and support to the concrete ready-mix industry to adapt to well informed EPD related practices. The research will collect, classify, and characterize concrete ready-mix EPD data, LCA inventory data, and procurement process data.

Final Deliverables:

Development of Process to Lower Global Warming Potential of Construction Materials (Report #2025-24)
Incorporating Sustainability into the Procurement Process (Research Summary)

Related Materials:

Related Research:

Project Personnel:

Principal Investigator: Audra Morse

Co-Principal Investigator: Lianna Miller, Amlan Mukherjee, Tom Van Dam, Michelle Cooper

Technical Liaison: Curt Turgeon

Project Coordinator: Jackie Jiran