Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (CPCI) officially launched the new Sustainable Plant Program at CPCI’s Summer Board Meeting in Whistler BC. May 14th – 17th, 2012.
The goal of this optional program is to improve the environmental impact at the manufacturing level while creating a culture of sustainability within the industry. The benefits of sustainable business practices are well documented. As the leading technical resource for the precast concrete industry in Canada, CPCI is providing the tools for its member plants to measure and implement changes that will have a measurable improvement in their environmental and economic performance using a web based Software Tracking Program.
Overview:
The CPCI Canadian Precast Concrete Sustainable Plant Program is a program designed to encourage continuous improvement and compliance to environmental and sustainability regulations and standards. Environmental performance will be determined based on the intents of all applicable government environmental policies. Sustainability performance will build on the Canadian Precast Concrete LCA research currently underway by CPCI. The CPCI program is not intended to replace municipal, provincial or federal environmental acts and their requirements, it is a program designed to track the improvements implemented by each manufacturer and it is the responsibility of each individual manufacturer to understand and comply with the applicable government requirements. As part of this program, facilities will be required to submit confidential benchmark reports on a semi-annual basis. The aggregated results of the program will be communicated to the public every two years through the Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Sustainability Report.
The environmental and sustainability requirements are based on the following sub-categories:
Environmental Performance Standards
- Dust control
- Process Water, Storm Water and Chemical Management
- Noise Control
Sustainability Performance Standards
- Energy
- Materials
- Transportation
The precast concrete industry is dedicated to developing and promoting low environmental impact building design, complementing such current efforts as the new Energy Code and ASHRAE‘s Advanced Energy Design Guidelines to encourage the elimination of thermal bridging in building facades and the increased use of thermal mass.
In the fall of 2014, the program was adopted by the National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA) and the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI). It is now called the North American Precast Concrete Sustainable Plant Program.
See the North American Precast Concrete Sustainable Plant Program.
