Portland Cement Association leadership discussed testimony provided Nov. 15 at the Opportunities in Industrial Decarbonization: Delivering Benefits for the Economy and the Climate hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

“The issue is scalability,” said Mike Ireland, PCA President and CEO. “America’s cement manufacturers, who have spent and continue to spend millions of dollars to develop more sustainable products and have complied with EPA regulations for decades, have the facilities, the materials and the workforce in place to supply the nation’s immediate demand for resilient and dependable construction products.

“The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act aims to provide $550 billion worth in construction projects across the country by 2026,” Ireland continued. “America’s cement industry will be able to deliver millions of tons of its products to fill this steep order expeditiously, as well as satisfy the demands of the U.S. private sector.”

“As incumbent cement manufacturers, our companies recognize the importance of collaborating with policy makers, NGOs and technology innovators to expedite our industry’s arrival at carbon neutrality,” said Sean O’Neill, PCA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. “For more than 100 years, PCA members have proudly supplied the building materials to meet our nation’s infrastructure needs, whether that is the Eisenhower Interstate System, the Hoover Dam or the Empire State Building, and we will continue doing so while lowering our carbon intensity and maintaining our industry’s commitment to sustainability. The demand for resilient and dependable infrastructure will only increase, and just as we have in the past, the cement industry is poised to meet that demand.”