WWW.ACPA.ORG 9 FALL // 2024 phase of the LCTM program, RC3 will continue its support, making training resources available and continuing to conduct meetings and educational events. “ACPA has helped bring together technical expertise to interface with both federal and state agencies to help make reduced carbon and other sustainability objectives implementable,” said Laura O’Neill Kaumo, President and CEO of American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA), “We are a resource to assist with grant applications and environmental product declarations (EPDs) and so far, agencies across the country are taking us up on it.” “There have been many lessons learned and questions addressed as we proceeded through the LCTM process,” said Thomas Van Dam, Principal, WJE. “Going forward, what we have learned will be applied to the implementation of the program as we work with individual DOTs and the RC3 as a whole to achieve program goals.” As states move into the execution phase, there will be many common needs and activities. RC3 sees great potential for efficiency gains if states form regional alliances. A cooperative approach will help states minimize efforts in many areas, including training, data collection and the identification of global warming potential (GWP) thresholds in environmental product declarations (EPDs). “FHWA initiatives in addition to the LCTM program, such as the Climate Challenge and EDC7, provide a good model for federal sustainability goals and processes, and may help inform DOTs,” said Kevin Senn, Principal, NCE. The FHWA Climate Challenge—Quantifying Emissions of Sustainable Pavements2 program awards federal funding to DOTs to explore life cycle assessments LCAs and EPDs in materials selection and design. To date, the program has identified more than 35 projects from 27 agencies and provided $7.1 million to 25 state departments of transportation. FHWA technical assistance is provided. The Every Day Counts round 7 (EDC-7)3 program has existed for more than a decade and facilitates innovations that improve safety, sustainability and inclusivity. Initiatives include “Integrating GHG Assessment and Reduction Targets in Transportation Planning” and “EPDs for Sustainable Project Delivery.” The key news for contractors and producers is the requirement for EPDs is ever closer on the horizon. RC3 expects the shift to occur quickly rather than gradually, as clear financial incentives will soon proliferate, and many EPDs will be developed at one time in response. This will be a game changer for contractors and producers competing in the marketplace. “One of the things we’ve learned during our involvement with the LCTM program is that the FHWA has entered a phase of accelerated efforts when it comes to incentivizing sustainable paving,” said Brian Killingsworth, Executive Vice President, NRMCA. “This fact is important for contractors and material producers to know, as sustainability requirements, especially EPDs, will soon be critical to their business practices and we expect them to remain critical even if political winds shift over time.” An award program announced in 2023 by the EPA, Reducing Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Construction Materials and Products4, will make $100 million in grants available to manufacturers, supporting their development of EPDs. RC3 expects that the support manufacturers and producers receive will result in synergies across the industry, as DOTs begin to require EPDs and contractors make progress with their own EPD development. RC3 and its participating organizations will make various resources available to help contractors and producers learn more, including training programs and presentations at industry events. ACPA has also partnered with WAP Sustainability to provide discounted access to ACPA members to WAP’s EPD tool (called Theta EPD). The link to get started with WAP Sustainability is here5: https://thetaepd.com/signup/acpa If you would like to find out how your organization can best take advantage of the LCTM program, visit the RC3 website1 today. References: 1. RC3 website: https://rc3.acpa.org/ 2. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Infrastructure, “FHWA Climate Challenge— Quantifying Emissions of Sustainable Pavements,” 2024 https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/ climatechallenge/projects/index.cfm 3. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), “EDC-7 Innovations (2023-2024): Every Day Counts.” https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/ everydaycounts/edc_7/docs/EDC7Factsheet.pdf 4. United States Environmental Protection Agency, “Grant Program: Reducing Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Construction Materials and Products,”2024: https://www. epa.gov/greenerproducts/grant-programreducing-embodied-greenhouse-gasemissions-construction-materials-and 5. Theta EPD website: https://thetaepd.com/ signup/acpa STATE DOTS FUNDING
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