Creative Composites Group achieves EPD for StormStrong utility poles

Domestic manufacturer of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites Creative Composites Group (CCG, Alum Bank, Pa., U.S.) has announced that its StormStrong utility pole offering has achieved a cradle-to-gate Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) from BRE Global (Hertfordshire, U.K.), a third-party international system that compares and verifies information about the lifecycle environmental impact of products and services.

Parameters of the EPD include primary energy use as well as resource use, including materials, fuels and water. StormStrong composite utility poles are lightweight, designed for grid hardening and are engineered for the current and future sustainability requirements of the utility industry, containing no chemicals or additives that can harm humans or the environment.

“We are proud of this achievement, which signals our ongoing commitment to being environmentally responsible, validated by a peer-reviewed process,” Dustin Troutman, corporate director of product development, Creative Composites Group, says. “A cradle-to-gate EPD considers manufacturing processes, materials and energy. The EPD will permit interested parties to compare the global warming potential [GWP] of our StormStrong poles against steel and concrete poles. In addition, it will serve as a baseline for future initiatives to further reduce the GWP.”

As many hazardous chemicals needed to preserve wood utility poles are being banned, CCG says composites offer a solution that does not leach chemicals and that extends the sustainability of the product. Additionally, pole-quality wood shortages continue to be a factor and prohibit the ability to build out the grid. And, with steel poles, the associated weight contributes to added transportation needs, in turn adding to emissions.

“Through the work required to achieve this EPD, we found that our product reduces the global warming potential by 30-40% over galvanized steel poles,” Kelsy Valko, chemical engineer, Creative Composites Group, adds. “With our primary environmental impact really being related to the manufacturing process, we feel these findings truly support the claim that we’re making a positive environmental impact with a lighter weight, non-chemical leaching solution.”