The leading voice for the crushed stone, ready mixed concrete, sand and gravel, and cement industries' community.
PELA is a 10-month hybrid program with online and in-person educational sessions and networking opportunities.
Careers in the Aggregates, Concrete & Cement Industries
The Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association (PACA) is the industry’s unified voice, representing more than 200 member companies across the state.
Creating a unified and strong voice for our industry.
PACA monitors and analyzes local, state and federal regulations and advocates for a balanced approach by the regulators.
PACA builds a bridge between our members and our partners at PennDOT, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission along with Pennsylvania’s construction industry to further the use of our materials to the benefit of the commonwealth.
One of the most effective tools in government relations for an industry is a robust advocacy/grassroots strategy.
In the last legislative session, we contributed over $275,000 to our political champions.
November 2025 at Hotel Hershey in Hershey, PA (PACA members only event).
PACA offers comprehensive concrete certification programs for ACI, NRMCA, and PennDOT in the central Pennsylvania area.
Membership has its privileges - most of PACA's events are open to PACA members only.
PACA conducts numerous education and training events during the year.
Choose concrete for your next parking lot project.
Streets built with concrete are built to last, consider concrete for your next project.
Concrete's strong, resilient and the choice for your next building or bridge.
PACA works with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) to convert your parking lot or building project to concrete without hurting your bottom line.
PACA drives a member-approved strategic plan to increase market share and engages specifiers and owners on the value of concrete in their projects.
This program provides free continuing education to the design and specifying communities. There are currently four courses available, ranging from 30 minutes to 60 minutes focused on the cement, aggregates and concrete industries. You'll receive a certificate of completion once you pass a quiz. The bookmarking feature allows you to leave the course and resume where you left off when you return.
Concrete is one of the most widely-used materials in the world; in fact, the US produces 350 million cubic yards of it annually to build roads, buildings, dams, etc.
Additionally, the worldwide production of Portland cement (used to bind concrete together) is projected to increase to 4.4 billion metric tons by 2050. With increased demand and production, there is a growing concern about its rather large carbon footprint – producing this material is an energy-intensive process that emits enormous amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and a range of other pollutants.
How can we mitigate cement/concrete production to reduce its environmental impact?
While there is no denying the environmental challenges of concrete production, it is also true that it can be recycled for other uses making concrete a vital part of the ‘circular economy’.
There has been a paradigm shift in how manufacturers, builders and homeowners approach resource conservation and sustainability – this ‘green concrete movement’ has been known to reduce CO2 emissions.
Here are some considerations for lessening the adverse environmental effects of this building material.
Whether it is returned concrete (the unused concrete that comes back to the plant in the mixer truck), or using concrete that is already in place, the product has a variety of uses.
Many concrete producers today “repurpose” their returned concrete in the form of concrete landscape block, retaining wall block, or other precast concrete items. This allows the producer to maximize their production and also enhance their bottom lines.
In-place concrete, such as pavements or building walls, can be crushed and used as a road base, bedding or other granular fill materials.
Volumetric mixers are perfect for small jobs as these don’t produce any washout water or waste.
Also, when you use these to mix concrete on-site, you get fresh batches, and some trucks even offer color dispensers. These machines are a great way to reduce energy consumption but without sacrificing the final quality.
The Specify Concrete Sustainability page is an excellent place to start if you want to learn more about concrete and green building practices.
For example, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ has so far saved more than 80 million tons of waste from reaching landfills. They are also a reliable source of the design and construction of high-performance buildings.
The use of cleaner technologies in concrete production, such as replacing a proportion of cement with fly ash or ground granulated blast-furnace slag and integrating nano-concrete technologies in the mix has solidified the concept of green concrete.
For instance, there have already been successful application cases of recycled plastic for reinforced concrete.
Buildings made with concrete offer peak levels of "whole-life performance" as the industry strives to offer a net positive environmental impact across the lifetime of its products.
The concrete industry is also an essential part of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's Cement Sustainability Initiative; with this, major stakeholders are now investing in quarry rehabilitation programs to enhance local landscapes and leave a positive impact on the environment.
More research needs to be done to find ways of reducing concrete’s carbon footprint, but for the time being it is safe to say that the immense benefits it offers, safely offset its impact on the environment.
Adopting specific techniques – like the ones outlined above – will not only be good for the environment but also help builders and manufacturers save money in the short and long term.
February 22, 2024
Proficient carbon calculations are increasingly important as “Buy Clean” legislation proliferates. New York and Colorado are among the states that now require carbon calcs for public projects. An estimated 40% of emissions are from the built environment. According to one estimate, the planet’s total building floor area will double by 2060. This makes the concrete industry a key player in the quest for net-zero emissions products and projects.
February 15, 2024
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) notes that cement production is “so carbon intensive that even though cement makes up less than 15% of concrete by weight, it accounts for 90% of concrete’s carbon footprint.” The use of fossil fuels to fire cement kilns is a key source of these carbon emissions.
February 08, 2024
In the quest for reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, everyone has a role to play. In the concrete industry, this includes everyone from manufacturers to contractors, and from trade associations to governments. Here is a review of some of the major initiatives impacting concrete’s sustainability.
February 01, 2024
Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) requires high-temperature calcination of limestone. It is possible to use various emissions-reducing pozzolans in concrete. Fly ash comes from coal-fired power plants. Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) comes from steel mills. Another SCM is metakaolin derived from kaolin.
The program is delivered in one (1) module and it should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. You will receive a certificate of completion once you pass the quiz. The bookmarking feature will allow you to leave the course and resume where you left off when you return.