The Cement Association of Canada (CAC) says in a news release that it congratulates Halifax Member of Parliament Andy Fillmore for the successful passage in the House of Commons of his Private Members Motion related to the environment and infrastructure investments. “This brief yet powerful motion calls on government, before making decisions on infrastructure funding proposals, to complete an analysis of their impact on greenhouse gas emissions and establish an implementation plan, the CAC news release says.
The cement industry welcomed the support of the government for the passage of the motion illustrating its recognition that climate change matters for Canada’s infrastructure. Now more than ever, both governments and the private sector have a role in ensuring that new infrastructure investments return better value for taxpayers by optimizing energy efficiency, GHG emissions and resilience in the face of our challenging and changing Canadian climate.
“With the passage of this motion, the government now commits to engaging in a process that will introduce necessary concepts like life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) in the procurement process, said CAC president and CEO Michael McSweeney. “Robust application of these concepts will drive GHG reductions, resilience and save taxpayer dollars.”
The CAC also recognizes that the challenge remains to ensure that the data and tools required to complete the proper analysis are transparent, asses the full cradle-to-cradle life cycle of projects and are robust and science based, the news release says. Mr.
“Our motto has always been, build it once, build it right and build it to last,” McSweeney said in the statement. “Rigorous understanding of the appropriate LCA and LCCA tools and analyses applied equally to all building materials and technologies is the path to building better for the low carbon climate resilient economy.”
The CAC welcomes the Government of Canada’s collaborative approach to the climate change challenge and looks forward to discussions with officials on developing the most appropriate implementation plan, it said in the news release. “As key players in the built environment that underpins our modern economy, the cement and concrete industry knows it will play a leading role in addressing the climate challenge. It will play a proactive and solutions focused role in helping Canada reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and helping our communities from coast to coast adapt to the impacts of climate change.”
