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EP #155: EPDs, Data Centers, and the New Paperwork Hitting Concrete Producers
Season 1
Episode 155
Published 1 week ago
Description
This episode is brought to you by GPRS.
GPRS helps keep your projects moving by locating what is hidden before you cut, core, drill, or trench. From ground-penetrating radar and utility locating to concrete scanning and 3D laser scanning, GPRS gives contractors better information before work starts.
Learn more or request a quote here:
https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/gprs
ON THIS EPISODE OF THE CONCRETE LOGIC PODCAST
Ready-mix producers are being asked for EPDs more often, especially on data center and large infrastructure projects.
But what are EPDs?
Who is asking for them?
And why should a small producer care?
In this episode, Seth talks with Leise Sandeman, co-founder of Pathways, about Environmental Product Declarations, life cycle assessments, carbon reporting, and how these requirements are starting to affect concrete bids.
Leise explains EPDs in plain language: what data goes into them, how cement, aggregate, admixtures, water, fuel, electricity, and transportation all get measured, and why producers should not assume this is only a “green building” paperwork exercise.
The big point?
EPDs are becoming part of how some owners, GCs, and hyperscale data center companies compare concrete producers.
And for smaller ready-mix companies, the risk is not just the carbon number.
It is being left out of the bid entirely because they do not have the documentation ready.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
00:00 - Intro and Concrete Logic Podcast support
03:15 - Who Leise Sandeman is and what Pathways does
03:52 - What is an EPD?
04:35 - Who is asking for EPDs?
05:54 - Where EPDs came from and how LCAs fit in
06:48 - Comparing concrete to other materials and other producers
07:36 - How cement and material supplier data affect EPDs
08:33 - Why EPDs involve a lot of math and manual work
09:07 - Generic EPDs vs producer-specific EPDs
10:09 - The three major data inputs for a concrete EPD
11:24 - Why utility and grid data matter
12:07 - What owners and hyperscalers compare
13:48 - How far the life cycle assessment goes
15:28 - How cement EPDs are built
16:12 - Does the EPD stop at placement?
17:16 - End-of-life questions and future standards
18:42 - Concrete’s carbon footprint vs material volume
20:29 - Why supplier choices can change the EPD number
21:21 - Why smaller producers need a simpler path
23:42 - Where EPD requirements may be heading
24:04 - Why EPD publishing is expected to grow
25:21 - Future inputs, fuels, SCMs, and supplier options
26:34 - How to contact Leise and Pathways
GUEST INFO
Leise Sandeman
Guest Profile:
https://www.concretelogicpo
GPRS helps keep your projects moving by locating what is hidden before you cut, core, drill, or trench. From ground-penetrating radar and utility locating to concrete scanning and 3D laser scanning, GPRS gives contractors better information before work starts.
Learn more or request a quote here:
https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/gprs
ON THIS EPISODE OF THE CONCRETE LOGIC PODCAST
Ready-mix producers are being asked for EPDs more often, especially on data center and large infrastructure projects.
But what are EPDs?
Who is asking for them?
And why should a small producer care?
In this episode, Seth talks with Leise Sandeman, co-founder of Pathways, about Environmental Product Declarations, life cycle assessments, carbon reporting, and how these requirements are starting to affect concrete bids.
Leise explains EPDs in plain language: what data goes into them, how cement, aggregate, admixtures, water, fuel, electricity, and transportation all get measured, and why producers should not assume this is only a “green building” paperwork exercise.
The big point?
EPDs are becoming part of how some owners, GCs, and hyperscale data center companies compare concrete producers.
And for smaller ready-mix companies, the risk is not just the carbon number.
It is being left out of the bid entirely because they do not have the documentation ready.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
- What is an EPD?
- Why are data center owners asking concrete producers for EPDs?
- How does a life cycle assessment connect to a concrete mix?
- What data does a ready-mix producer need to create an EPD?
- Why can two plants from the same producer have different EPD numbers?
- How much of a concrete EPD is driven by cement?
- Are owners comparing concrete producers against each other?
- Why might simply having an EPD help a producer win work in some markets?
- How could EPDs affect smaller 2-to-10-plant ready-mix operations?
- Why does Leise think EPDs are becoming more about business than climate messaging?
00:00 - Intro and Concrete Logic Podcast support
03:15 - Who Leise Sandeman is and what Pathways does
03:52 - What is an EPD?
04:35 - Who is asking for EPDs?
05:54 - Where EPDs came from and how LCAs fit in
06:48 - Comparing concrete to other materials and other producers
07:36 - How cement and material supplier data affect EPDs
08:33 - Why EPDs involve a lot of math and manual work
09:07 - Generic EPDs vs producer-specific EPDs
10:09 - The three major data inputs for a concrete EPD
11:24 - Why utility and grid data matter
12:07 - What owners and hyperscalers compare
13:48 - How far the life cycle assessment goes
15:28 - How cement EPDs are built
16:12 - Does the EPD stop at placement?
17:16 - End-of-life questions and future standards
18:42 - Concrete’s carbon footprint vs material volume
20:29 - Why supplier choices can change the EPD number
21:21 - Why smaller producers need a simpler path
23:42 - Where EPD requirements may be heading
24:04 - Why EPD publishing is expected to grow
25:21 - Future inputs, fuels, SCMs, and supplier options
26:34 - How to contact Leise and Pathways
GUEST INFO
Leise Sandeman
Guest Profile:
https://www.concretelogicpo