Ontario Construction News staff writer
Miller Paving Ltd. is the first Canadian asphalt concrete pavement producer to offer Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its asphalt mixtures.
Partnering with WAP Sustainability, the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) was key in making the NAPA Emerald Eco-Label tool for the development of asphalt mixture EPD available in Canada.
The Miller Whitby Asphalt Plant now has several EPDs published on the NAPA website and expects to add more for each product/mix produced in 2024.
“Having EPDs for the asphalt we produce is important to us at Colas because it helps improve our processes, the asphalt we produce, and their environmental impact. They also help us keep accurate carbon score and help us meet our carbon reduction goals that are part of our corporate CSR program,” said François Vachon, President of Colas Canada. “We expect more of our Colas companies in Canada to participate in the program and begin offering EPDs for the asphalt produced in their facilities.”
EPDs are the equivalent of nutrition facts found on food labels, which give a full, impartial, third-party verified report on the environmental, cradle-to-gate impact on the specific product produced at a particular plant. The process used to develop an EPD ensures consistency in data collection, analysis, and reporting, and third-party verification ensures trustworthiness in the information communicated through an EPD.
The purpose is twofold: they help decision-makers assess a product from an environmental perspective, allowing them to make informed decisions regarding the impact of that product on a project. Also, the information contained in the EPDs helps asphalt manufacturers benchmark their products and continue to strive to find solutions to reduce their environmental impact.
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), Type III Environmental Label is defined ISO Standard 14025:2006, Environmental Labels and Declarations. The Emerald Eco-label program helps standardize industry specific LCA assumptions, allowing for credible and transparent reporting.