A Lasting Legacy

Concrete masonry producers take great pride in designing and building timeless and resilient structures that last a lifetime.

The CCMPA seeks to play the same vital role in society, improving the quality of life for future generations of Canadians. Our goal is to help build sustainable and resilient communities through the jobs we create, the skills training we provide, and the charitable and research initiatives we sponsor on behalf of our members.

We encourage our membership to incorporate sustainable development (SD) into their daily business activities.  The CCMPA provides guidance to our members on best practices in social and environmental performance. We also work with other leaders in the industry to help our members achieve their SD goals.

 

Sustainable Construction

Sustainable construction aims to meet present day needs for housing, working environments and infrastructure without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs in times to come.

A sustainable approach to construction focuses on minimizing the environmental impact of the raw materials we use in building design and maximizing the energy efficiency of our buildings, offices, factories and homes.  The goal is to reduce the environmental impact of a building over its entire lifetime, while providing healthier and more comfortable living and working environments.

CCMPA members play an important role in the delivery of sustainable construction. Concrete masonry is a key component in constructing resilient and energy-efficient buildings.

In the world of construction, buildings have the capacity to make a major contribution to a more sustainable future for our planet.

Reducing our Environmental Footprint

Our goal is to provide a better quality of life through the concrete masonry products we manufacture, while minimizing impacts on the environment and local communities.  We focus on addressing a range of issues including: climate change; fuel use; energy, water and material consumption; airborne emissions; and, waste generation.

CCMPA members are actively pursuing innovative products and technology to lower their carbon footprint and strengthen their environmental performance – including new Portland Limestone Cements (PLC), product recycling and carbon capture and sequestration methods.

Portland Limestone Cements

Cement is a key ingredient in making concrete and while it typically represents about 10% of a concrete mix, it accounts for more than 80% of all energy required to produce concrete.
To address this challenge, concrete masonry producers are now extensively using Portland limestone cement (PLC) – a contemporary cement engineered for today’s needs, which has been instrumental in improving both the environmental footprint and performance of concrete.

The use of PLC in manufacturing concrete decreases CO2 emissions by 10% while still producing concrete with the same amount of strength and durability. PLC also contributes to more sustainable construction and cleaner air by reducing clinker production, a by-product of the cement manufacturing and heating process.

We will continue to pursue PLC cements and supplementary cementing materials as we advance our environmental performance.

Recycling Concrete

Sustainable construction emphasizes the benefits that flow from the recovery and recycling of concrete for secondary applications.

Concrete recycling helps protect natural resources and reduces the amount of valuable “waste” materials going to landfill.  It also eliminates the need for disposal by using the readily available concrete as an aggregate source for new concrete or other applications. This in turn helps reduce the economic impact of a project. By removing both waste disposal and new material production needs, transportation requirements can also be significantly reduced

Carbon-Sequestering Cements

Our industry is actively pursuing ways for cement production to absorb more carbon dioxide than it emits, acting as a vehicle for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) – the concept being that concrete serves as a carbon dioxide sink with the potential to balance some of the releases in its manufacture.

CCMPA members are deploying CCS technologies at their plants in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of their concrete masonry production. The masonry industry will continue to conduct R&D with our academic and technical partners to further enhance our collective understanding of the benefits of carbon-sequestering technologies.

Our goal is to become the carbon sink for the construction sector in the sequestering of carbon dioxide.

Generating Employment and Economic Value

We believe the biggest contribution our industry can make to the wellbeing of the communities in which we operate is through the creation of employment opportunities.

The concrete masonry industry directly employs thousands of people across Canada. Additionally, our members strive, wherever possible, to buy goods and services from locally-based suppliers as a way of supporting our communities, stimulating the local economy and minimizing the environmental impact of transporting materials from various locations to their sites.

Training a Safe, Skilled and Ready Workforce

CCMPA members aim to operate at the highest standards to provide a safe and healthy workplace for their employees and subcontractors. Our members implement stringent safety policies and participate in public health programs that benefit both employees and local communities.

They also work to ensure their employees and future employees have the skills and tools they need to provide quality workmanship to our industry.  The CCMPA provides sponsorships to students in construction education at Conestoga College, in the Waterloo Region of Ontario, and at the Canadian Masonry Design Centre (CMDC) in Mississauga, Ontario.

Visit Conestoga’s website to learn more about the awards and bursaries CCMPA annually provides to outstanding trade and apprenticeship students.

Annually, CCMPA sponsors engineering students and provides numerous scholarships to ensure the next generation of concrete masonry experts are prepared to build and design for a sustainable future. Since 2009, we have provided funding to 82 Masters and PhD. students who were completing their studies in masonry-focused topics.

Being a Good Neighbour and Corporate Citizen

The CCMPA strives to have a positive and meaningful impact on the communities in which our members operate.  We focus on improving the quality of life for our neighbours, targeting our contributions to improve their health and social well-being and to provide support to the most vulnerable people in our society.

Each year, on behalf of our members, the CCMPA supports various local health, education and community initiatives, such as:

Innovating for the Future

The CCMPA also provides substantial financial support to post-secondary institutions to help spark innova¬tion in the concrete masonry sector.

We currently invest millions of dollars (CDN) in research sponsorships at 15 universi¬ties and colleges across Canada – including McMaster University, McGill University, Dalhousie University, the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia. We target our funding toward valuable masonry research that will help secure a low carbon, climate resilient future for Canada.

Our goal is to develop building materials of choice that are designed to last. We support our academic partners to research, test and develop strong, safe and stable concrete block products that can withstand catastrophic events, such as fire and earthquakes, and severe weather, such as hurricanes, tornadoes and floods.

We also sponsor innovative research that advances the sustainability and long life-cycle of our products, seeking materials that have a lower carbon footprint and that improve the overall energy efficiency of our concrete masonry structures.