ALBERTA DOESN'T HAVE A CARBON TAX ANYMORE, NOW WHAT?
On June 3rd, Alberta's United Conservative Party (UCP) government passed Bill 1 – An Act to Repeal the Carbon Tax. The Act received royal assent on June 4th. Now in force, this legislation repealed the Climate Leadership Act retroactively to May 30, 2019.
This paves the way for the UCP government to impliment their proposed TIER program, which will impact the cement and concrete industry...
Concrete Alberta has updated our information sheet on the concrete industry and the use of concrete in the built and road environment. Please share this document, as it speaks to the impact the concrete industry has on our province, as well as the opportunities for our industry going forward. We will be using this document in our conversations with government, stakeholders and the general public.
Thank you again for taking an active role in your association and working towards the common goal of improving concrete’s market share which in turn improves your business. If you have any questions or feedback please don’t hesitate to contact the Concrete Alberta office.
SAVE THE DATE: CONCRETE ALBERTA'S FALL GOLF TOURNAMENT
Concrete Alberta will be hosting its annual fall golf tournament at The Ranch Golf & Country Club in Edmonton on September 6, 2019. More details to come and registration will open soon, but for now please mark this date in your calendar!
COURSES, CERTIFICATIONS & SEMINARS
Don't miss out on the training and certification courses Concrete Alberta has coming up:
ACI Concrete Field Testing Certification
July 10 & 11, 2019 in Edmonton
The Concrete Alberta 2019 Road Trip runs from July 24-28
and rides from Castlegar, BC through to Kelowna, Vernon and Golden.
This is the 6th year running and there will be a few special things planned to rev up the fun. Registration is open to all Concrete Alberta member companies as well as friends of members. It is not restricted to motorcycles or classic cars—all modes of transportation are welcome.
We are pleased to announce that eleven labs and three producers participated in the 2nd round of the comparative test program in Edmonton. A special thanks to Park Ready-mix for hosting, and to Karen Mathison from the City of Edmonton for coordinating this event. We would like to acknowledge first time participant Arrow Engineering for joining us - thanks for attending. The next and final round for the year goes September 18th in Edmonton.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Concrete buildings, pavements and structures function as storehouses of atmospheric carbon
carbonation throughout its useful, end of life and demolition/disposal stages. This paper reflects evidence from historical and recent scientific studies that indicate there is significant atmospheric CO2 absorption by concrete and that more research and education is necessary to understand concrete’s impact upon the environment and how much cement and concrete related CO2 should be accounted for as emissions. On a global scale, the use of concrete is enormous and therefore represents a significant CO2 sink that is not currently being included in carbon accounting practices. This paper strongly advocates for the inclusion of this data in concrete Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and current carbon accounting practices.
The Canadian Ready Mixed Concrete Association (CRMCA), while remaining CRMCA is taking an approach similar to the provincial ready mixed associations that make-up the CRMCA. Just as the Alberta Ready Mixed Concrete Association is now known as Concrete Alberta, CRMCA is now known as Concrete Canada! This is a very positive brand move and you will be seeing more from Concrete Canada on social media (Twitter and Facebook) and elsewhere. For now, this is the new logo, hot off the presses just in time for Canada Day long weekend!
HAPPY CANADA DAY from Concrete Alberta and our concrete allies across our great nation!
Emission Omissions: Carbon accounting gaps in the built environment
Independent research by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) has uncovered serious gaps in how carbon emissions from the building materials we use to build our communities and public infrastructure are being measured.
The study, Emission Omissions: carbon accounting gaps in the built environment, finds that these gaps are significant enough that they could misdirect government, policy makers, builders and architects in their
efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of our communities. Its findings and recommendations provide a path forward for improving carbon accounting and putting evidence-based decisions back at the center of efforts to reduce Alberta’s greenhouse gases.
Be part of the conversation! The first step is following us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The second is sharing, liking and commenting on the posts. We’re building our audience and you should be part of that community.
