A long-time goal by the Ontario Road Builders’ Association to implement a program that addresses climate change in the roadbuilding sector has moved to the next level.
For the past year-and-a-half or so the association has been working to bring Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for asphalt mixes to Ontario.
Just a few weeks ago it rolled out a benchmarking project to develop “accurate Ontario asphalt industry-specific benchmarks of the environmental aspects of asphalt mixes,” says its technical advisor, Donn Bernal.
EPDs are increasingly being used in American road projects, partly through demands by various state departments of transport and the commercial sector, he says.
EPDs are documents that list the “cradle to gate” environmental impacts to create a product or service. In the case of asphalt mixes, that would include factors in the mix design such as aggregate size, the mix design method, plus the transportation of aggregate, the cement mix and other materials to asphalt plants, says Bernal.
Supported by the National Research Council, which is partially funding it, the benchmarking program will enable asphalt plant operators to document the various “ingredients” that have gone into their mix designs.
WAP Sustainability has created an online database on its Theta online program that will allow those operators to create their own company and plant profile and input their plants’ operating data. It will be a secure portal and only two WAP employees will be able to view the raw data.
However, the consulting firm will be able to access that data and create an “average” EPD. There will actually be eight EPDs, based on the eight most commonly used asphalt mixes in Ontario, he says.
In its analysis the consulting firm will be looking for trends and taking into account Ontario’s large geographic diversity and how that impacts asphalt mix production, says Bernal.
“For example, there are different ways of drying aggregate. In southern Ontario that is primarily done with natural gas. In northern Ontario that (drying) could be with diesel.”
In the north and isolated parts of the province there are also longer distances involved to truck aggregates to plants and that means more emissions are generated in the production of asphalt mixes, he says.
Of course, the program’s success depends on the volunteer participation of plant operators.
“As many as possible with a target of 30 to 50 plants in various geographical areas,” says Bernal, when asked how many plants will be participating. “The more plants the more accurate the data.”
Although he won’t have access to the data, Bernal will be in contact with WAP Sustainability to ensure there is representation from operators in Ontario’s four distinct geographic areas: north, eastern Ontario, the Greater Toronto Area and southwest Ontario.
And that may require him to make a few calls to producers asking them to participate if they’re not doing so.
For the project to succeed there has to full operator participation from all parts of the province, says Bernal.
WAP will share its analysis in September with an EPD ad-hoc committee comprised of asphalt producer ORBA members and National Research Council representatives. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of this year, he says.
The EPD that will be produced will be based on NAPA Emerald Eco-Label. However, it will be tailored to Ontario’s needs, says Bernal.
There is considerable industry interest in the project, not just in Ontario, but also in Quebec. Bernal has held a number of discussions with representatives of Bitume Quebec, the organization that represents the asphalt industry in that province. Some of those representatives will be observers in the EPD ad-hoc committee meetings, he says.
Asphalt EPDs will benefit both owners and the roadbuilding industry. They will help address the issue of climate change and may promote the use of recycled asphalt and warm mix asphalt, the use of which helps reduce emissions.
Plant operators can also use them as a tool to measure the performance of their operations and to look for ways to be more efficient and cost-productive, says Bernal.
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