1. Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)
An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.
2. Definition of the requirement
The Department of Construction Research Center (CRC) of the National Research Council Canada has a requirement to develop regionalized life cycle assessment (LCA) reports and life cycle inventory (LCI) datasets that are representative of simple asphalt mixtures from typical plants which are commonly utilized throughout Canada, particularly in Ontario with well-established road networks, encompassing major highways and arterial roads. We aim to rely on generic upstream materials and energy data in order to ensure that Industry-Wide (Generic) Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) represent standard practices and products. These reports and data will be internally reviewed and verified by NRC. The outcomes from this project will be made publicly available on both National and International databases. The work will involve the following:
o Stakeholder Engagement: Achieve consensus from asphalt manufacturers representing the majority of Ontario's asphalt production capacity to participate in the study. This will involve extensive stakeholder management to ensure collaboration and data sharing. If consensus is not reached the project will be terminated.
o Data Collection: Gather detailed production and emissions data from participating manufacturers, ensuring that all relevant processes, including mixture types and binder usage in Ontario, are accurately documented.
o LCI Data Development: Complete life cycle assessment (LCA) inventory data templates, ensuring accuracy and consistency in the data gathered. This will include providing an export of the modeling files for further analysis and validation.
o LCA Reporting: Prepare a comprehensive life cycle assessment report template for regionalized asphalt products. The report will adhere to the highest standards, ensuring that it is suitable for submission to NRC library.
o Third-Party Review: Facilitate a third-party review of the developed LCI data and LCA report to ensure that the methodologies and findings are robust, credible, and in line with industry best practices.
o Provincial-Averaged Environmental Product Declaration (EPD): Develop a provincial-averaged EPD for asphalt products, reflecting the environmental impacts associated with asphalt production in Ontario. This will be based on the aggregated data collected from participating manufacturers.
3. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential Requirements)
Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its product/equipment/system (as appropriate) meets the following requirements:
• Experience:
o A minimum of five years of experience in the past ten years in greenhouse gas lifecycle assessments
o Successful completion of at least two projects similar in size, scope, and complexity within the construction materials sector.
o A minimum of two projects in the last five years, including stakeholder management and achieving consensus, in the asphalt manufacturing industry in Ontario
• Knowledge and Understanding:
o In-depth knowledge of asphalt manufacturing processes, including the types of mixtures and binders commonly used in Ontario.
o Strong understanding of environmental product declarations (EPDs) and their significance in the construction sector.
o Expertise in LCA software products that are capable of exporting the models generated, with specific experience in tools such as SimaPro, GaBi, or OpenLCA.
• Academic Qualifications:
o Must possess an undergraduate degree from a recognized university in the field of environmental science, engineering, or a related discipline to the construction of infrastructure. A graduate degree with a focus on sustainability is preferred.
• Professional Designation, Accreditation, and/or Certification:
o Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation or equivalent in a relevant field.
o Certification or proven expertise in Life Cycle Assessment is preferred.
• Existing relationships/network:
o Relationships with decision makers at a large proportion of Ontario asphalt manufacturers and roadbuilding companies.
4. This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement
o Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement
5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier
As the representative for road building companies including asphalt producers in Ontario, the Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA) is the only organization that can convene the producers and get its members to provide greenhouse gas life cycle assessment data from its members. ORBA’s members are the only organizations that have the required data.
Any other organization would take a considerable amount of time to get the trust of the industry members before they could start the work.
6. The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection 6(d) - "only one person is capable of performing the work".
7. Ownership of Intellectual Property
o Canada intends to retain ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract on the basis that the main purpose of the contract is:
Where the main purpose of the Crown Procurement Contract, or the deliverables contracted for, is:
4.1 To generate knowledge and information for public dissemination.
Canada grants a free license to the vendor to use the data.
8. The proposed contract is expected from October 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025.
9. The estimated value of the contract is $90,650.00 CAD (GST/HST extra).
10. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier:
Ontario Road Builders’ Association
365 Brunel Road, Unit 1,
Mississauga, ON,
L4Z 1Z5
11. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities:
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.
12. The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is 2:00PM on September 25, 2024
13. Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:
Tania Backes,
Senior Contracting Officer
M-58, 1200 Montreal Rd, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0R6
Telephone: 613-410-3834
E-mail: Tania.Backes@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
