EP #155: EPDs, Data Centers, and the New Paperwork Hitting Concrete Producers
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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.concretelogicpodcast.com/guests/leise-sandeman/
CONCRETE LOGIC ACADEMY
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CREDITS
Host: Seth Tandett
Producers: Jodi Tandett & Concrete Logic Media
Music: Mike Dunton
https://www.mdunton.com/
WHERE TO FIND SETH
Concrete Logic Podcast Website:
https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@concretelogicpodcast
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/seth-tandett/
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