The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is doing more than building sustainable infrastructure. It’s gearing up to prove a pavement’s sustainability with the use of environmental product declarations (EPDs) while reducing negative environmental impacts of building and maintaining the state’s transportation infrastructure. In the latest issue of the FHWA’s EDCNews, we get more details on the upcoming implementation of EPD use in Pennsylvania.
The state DOT has a plan to institutionalize EPDs by 2028 and FHWA sees this as “notable” because the EPDs are being collected without state mandates. The EDCNews reports:
“Starting in 2025, PennDOT will collect EPDs for all asphalt mixtures. Producers will include EPDs when submitting their asphalt mixture Job Mix Formulas (JMFs) for approval. PennDOT is also partnering with the Pennsylvania Asphalt Pavement Association (PAPA) to develop additional guidance for including EPDs in this process.”
FHWA’s Every Day Counts newsletter began with an explanation of EPDs, reminding us that these third-party, verified metrics are used to communicate the potential impacts of products. An EPD conveys everything “in” a product from resources, energy, emissions from construction materials, and other life-cycle assessment inputs. With this information, PennDOT can assess and show the overall carbon footprint of each project going forward.
The conversation around EPDs has been ongoing and asphalt contractors interested in learning more about PennDOT’s implementation plan, specifically, can reach out to Kevin Gnegy, Dean Schmitt, or Yathi Yatheepan. You can also learn more about EPDs in general by contacting LaToya Johnson, Migdalia Carrion, or Brian Dobling in the FHWA Office of Infrastructure.