Portland Cement Association (PCA) President and CEO Mike Ireland opened his address to the cement industry’s largest annual U.S. gathering with an upbeat rundown of 2023 member and staff deliverables. “We’re on a winning streak and it’s just beginning,” he noted, underscoring these past year accomplishments and highlights:
- $1.2 billion-plus in prospective Department of Energy carbon management project grants for producer members Heidelberg Materials North America, National Cement Company of California, Roanoke Cement Co. and Summit Materials Inc.
- Portland-limestone cement (PLC) approval by 50 state transportation agencies.
- 4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions avoided owing to industry’s ASTM C150 Type I/II to PLC or ASTM C595 Type IL migration.
- 11 PCA member plants earned EPA Energy Star certification.
- Two PCA members and the association on its own earned Energy Star Partner of the Year status.
- Inaugural, widely subscribed Sustainability Summit (August).
- PCA and Global Cement and Concrete Association-hosted panel, Decarbonization Through Collaboration, at Climate Week New York City (September).
Ireland also stressed PCA member and staff priorities for the next five years: Blended cements, alternative fuels, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) methods. His comments set the tone for the PCA General Session, anchoring day three activities of the 2024 IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Conference, held April 28-May 2 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
Ireland’s address led to a CCUS Panel and PCA Chief Economist Ed Sullivan’s Forecast Update.
