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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteA new North American Product Category Rule (PCR) brings cement and key supplementary cementitious material (SCM) categories under one set of reporting rules. The American Cement Association (ACA) says the consolidation is intended to align reporting and improve environmental product declarations (EPDs) for blended cements. It is a change to how declarations are prepared—not evidence that any product has lower emissions.
What is the new cementitious materials PCR?
The rule is officially named SMART EPD® Part B Product Category Rules for Cementitious Materials, Standard 1000-017, version 1. Smart EPD’s PCR Library lists version 1.0 as published September 4, 2026, conforming to ISO 14025:2006 and ISO 21930:2017, and valid through September 4, 2031. Smart EPD’s PCR Library is the source for those publication and validity dates.
ACA announced the partnership behind the consolidated rule on October 5, 2026, with the Slag Cement Association, Natural Pozzolan Association, and American Coal Ash Association. ACA describes the new PCR as combining three previous rules covering cement, slag cement, and SCMs, including coal ash and natural pozzolans. Its stated purpose is closer alignment of SCM reporting with cement reporting, particularly relevant to blended cements. ACA’s announcement gives the high-level account of the consolidation.
How do PCRs and EPDs differ?
A PCR sets the specific rules, requirements, and guidelines for producing environmental declarations for a product category. ISO’s terminology describes PCRs as rules for developing environmental declarations, EPDs, and footprint communications. ISO 14025 defines the framework for Type III environmental declarations.
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An EPD is the resulting report: it communicates quantified environmental impacts for a product using the applicable PCR. ACA describes cement EPDs as cradle-to-gate reports; a declared unit such as a metric tonne can support manufacturer reporting where the material’s eventual use varies. EPDs can inform material selection and procurement by owners, designers, specifiers, ready-mix producers, and precast manufacturers. They are not, by themselves, proof that one product is preferable. A sound comparison checks that declarations use relevant and comparable scope, declared units, geography, and data.
Which materials and declarations are in scope?
ACA says the consolidated rules cover cement, slag cement, and SCMs such as coal ash and natural pozzolans. Its current manufacturer data-collection effort is directed at updated U.S. industry-average EPDs for four cement categories:
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- Blended cements
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ACA says regional EPDs will be developed where possible. The announcement does not quantify an emissions reduction from consolidation. Nor does its high-level description establish detailed changes to allocation, data quality, greenhouse-gas reporting, machine-readable EPD rules, or every material inclusion; consult the full PCR for those requirements rather than inferring them from the announcement.
What happens to existing cement EPDs?
The appearance of a new PCR does not automatically invalidate EPDs already published under earlier rules. ACA says EPDs can be valid for up to five years and reports that U.S. industry-average cement EPDs based on the 2020 Cement PCR have been extended through July 2027 while updated data are gathered under the 2025 cement PCR. That older PCR was first published in 2021 and revised in 2023. Smart EPD’s library marks earlier cement and SCM rules as superseded by the consolidated PCR while retaining their legacy validity dates.
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For procurement or design comparisons, check the declaration itself for its PCR and version, product scope, declared unit, system boundary, geography, publication and expiry dates, and verification status. Also establish whether it is product-specific, regional, or industry-average: those distinctions can change what a comparison actually tells you.
How are manufacturers preparing updated industry-average EPDs?
ACA says its EPD consultant has begun surveying U.S. cement manufacturers to collect data for updated industry-average declarations across the four categories above. Regional declarations are planned where possible. The announcement describes the data-gathering effort, but does not specify a completion date.
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ACA also describes the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) EPD Tool as web-based software for drafting declarations for clinker, cement, aggregate, concrete, and precast. ACA says ACA/GCCA members can access it through association dues and non-members through subscription. Its North American module follows ISO 21930, while its International module follows EN 15804; ACA says the requirements are largely harmonized but differ enough to warrant separate modules. The tool assists calculation and drafting; the governing PCR, verification, and registration remain part of producing an EPD. GCCA’s EPD Tool page describes the software.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the change means for construction decisions
The practical change is a common reporting framework for cement and relevant SCM categories, with the stated goal of more aligned reporting—especially for blended cement. That can make declarations more coherent to prepare and assess, but consolidation alone does not change a material’s environmental performance. Buyers and project teams still need to compare like with like and interpret an EPD within its stated boundaries.
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