Peter Bacas, an ERG senior manager for standards and sustainable strategies, brings over five years of experience in embodied carbon and sustainability in the construction industry to his work at ERG. His deep expertise in implementing embodied carbon metrics, requirements, and policy focused on environmental product declarations (EPDs) and life cycle assessments (LCAs) through previous roles at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have established him as a leading expert on leveraging EPDs to implement sustainable procurement. 

At EPA, Peter played a key role in the Construction Material Opportunities to Reduce Emissions (C-MORE) embodied carbon program. As a program member, he led the development of numerous technical resources, including EPA’s product category rule (PCR) criteria, EPD criteria, the approach for developing greenhouse gas (GHG) thresholds, and LCA secondary data improvements. He also represented EPA on the ready-mix Concrete, Cement, Asphalt Binder, and Steel Construction Products PCR Committees; served as a member of the U.S. mirror committees to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the ISO 21930:2017 (TC59) and ISO 1402x series of standards (TC 207); and engaged frequently with counterparts from Canada, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the European Union to help ensure international interoperability.

While at the Port Authority, Peter focused on integrating benchmarking and quantification efforts in active construction projects. For example, he supported clean construction initiatives by combining materials, equipment, and construction and demolition (C&D) waste data into a centralized platform for emissions tracking. He also led one of the country's first GHG benchmarking efforts utilizing EPDs and mix designs for sourced asphalt, concrete, and steel, ultimately integrating EPDs into the Port Authority’s annual GHG inventory. This work resulted in the nation’s first implementable ready-mix concrete global warming potential limits. In addition, Peter developed EPD requirements and conducted stakeholder engagement. This work resulted in EPDs covering 100 percent of delivered asphalt and 85 percent of delivered concrete (both ready-mix and precast mix designs). 

Peter holds a master’s degree in sustainability from Harvard University and a B.A. from Drew University. His graduate school research focused on integrating the corporate GHG Protocol’s Scope 1, 2, and 3 emission inventory accounting into product LCAs. One of his papers on this topic won the best paper award at the 2024 Pavement, Roadway, and Bridge LCA Symposium. In his personal time, Peter enjoys playing/listening to music, gaming, hiking, traveling, and stopping his cat June from eating plastic.