Page 39 - Green Builder May-June 2018 Issue

THE EVOLVING ROLE OF ASSOCIATIONS
In the bag. The cement
industry’s 600,000
employees are working
PCA (Portland Cement Association) toward letting people know
how enviro-friendly the
Cement plays a more important role in construction than realized— often-overlooked product
is, by stressing its lower
and PCA wants everyone to know about it. cost, energy efficiencies
and durability in the
construction of homes and
other buildings.
HE PORTLAND CEMENT ASSOCIATION (PCA), founded in 1916, is the nation’s largest
policy, research, education and market intelligence organization serving America’s cement
manufacturers. PCA members have facilities in all 50 states and represent 93 percent of U.S.
cement production. If someone works with cement, more than likely they’re aligned with the PCA.
PCA promotes safety, sustainability and innovation in all aspects of construction, fosters
continuous improvement in cement manufacturing and distribution, and generally promotes
economic growth and sound infrastructure investment. There’s a lot to promote: The cement
T and concrete industry collectively employs 600,000 people and contributes $100 billion each
year to the nation’s economy.
By offering a variety of educational and technical resources, such as the MIT Concrete Sustainability
Hub (https://cshub.mit.edu)—which focuses on structure durability, energy efficiency, resiliency and cost-
“America’s cement producers effectiveness—the PCA helps concrete manufacturers remind the public how sustainable and reliable a
building material concrete is. It offers energy efficiency, has a long life cycle, carries lower life-cycle costs
have a strong culture of and provides resilience following natural and man-made disasters.
innovation. That has led to America’s cement producers’ strong culture of innovation that
gains in energy efficiency and has led to new sustainable manufacturing practices that continually FACTS
lessen environmental impacts. Over the last 40 years, U.S. cement
new sustainable manufacturers have reduced the energy used to produce a metric NUMBER OF MEMBERS: N/A
manufacturing practices that ton of cement by roughly 40 percent. More-efficient equipment has CREDIT: U.S. ARMY
continually reduce led to faster, safer projects. Company-driven improvements have led MEMBER BREAKDOWN: Regular
to increased use of alternative fuels, which now represent more than
Member Companies (firms engaged in the
environmental impacts.” 15 percent of total cement plant energy consumption in the U.S. This manufacture or sale of Portland cement
keeps industrial byproducts out of landfills. in the United States); Affiliate Member
Mike Ireland,
The PCA encourages further green efforts with its annual Energy and Companies (any local, area, state or regional
PCA President Environment Awards, which recognize outstanding environmental organization with cement and concrete
and community relations efforts that go beyond meeting minimal interests); Associate Member Companies
requirements. (firms and consultants that provide
Such stand-out efforts by cement producers in these areas have equipment, products and services to the
been consistently recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection cement industry); Individual Members ROLE MODELS
Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program. They also help contractors (any person employed in a management,
meet requirements for Leadership in Energy and Environmental leadership or professional role by a regular
Design (LEED) certification from the United States Green Building member company, an affiliate or an
Council (USGBC). associate member)
HEADQUARTERS: Skokie, Ill.

WEBSITE: www.cement.org
NUMBER OF ACTIVE SITES: 2 (Skokie, Ill.,
headquarters and Washington, D.C., office)
KEY SERVICES OFFERED: Advocacy
for cement use; Market Intelligence;
cement and concrete technical expertise
and education; cement and concrete
applications

MISSION STATEMENT: To improve and
extend the uses of Portland cement and
concrete.

36 GREEN BUILDER May/June 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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