A new California bill would tackle carbon emissions in a new way—by requiring the use of lower-carbon construction products.
Assembly Bill 262, the Buy Clean Act, would require all state departments and the University of California and California State University systems to buy steel, rebar, flat glass, and mineral wool board insulation for its infrastructure projects from low-carbon producers. This would be a drastic change from the current lowest-cost purchasing strategy.
The latter allows contractors to buy materials from anywhere—including China—where materials are more likely to be produced with less energy efficient methods. The bill would require the state to determine the average greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit from the manufacture of the four infrastructure products.
Bidders on state projects would be required to submit Environmental Product Declarations, (EPDs), to prove that the materials they use are at or below the average for GHG impact. The Buy Clean bill has bi-partisan support in the legislature, and is supported by a coalition of labor, business, environment, and building trade groups.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Sep 7, 2021
Boston turns to developer fees to fund flood protection infrastructure
Assessments on commercial properties will help build seawall and other protective measures.
Codes and Standards | Sep 3, 2021
Low-cost methods can have substantial impact on reducing embodied carbon
Whole-building design, material substitution, and specification strategies can slash carbon by up to 46%.
Codes and Standards | Sep 2, 2021
Case for power resiliency in buildings grows with more disaster and outages
Essential businesses like data centers, hospitals are first adopters of new storage systems.
Codes and Standards | Aug 31, 2021
UK industry group wants mandatory whole-life carbon assessments of buildings
Aims to address hidden emissions embedded in supply chains.
Codes and Standards | Aug 31, 2021
Home electrification will require code upgrades
Residential electric panel capacity must be increased.
Codes and Standards | Aug 30, 2021
Facebook’s new $800 million Arizona data center to save big on water
Will restore more than 200 million gallons of water per year to river basins.
Codes and Standards | Aug 26, 2021
California may require solar on new high-rise residential and commercial buildings
State energy commission approves proposal; Could become law in 2023.
Codes and Standards | Aug 25, 2021
Study finds racism, discrimination common in construction industry
NIBS to share best practices with industry leaders to improve worker treatment.
Codes and Standards | Aug 24, 2021
White paper addresses insulated metal panel specifications for roofs and walls
Pertains to provisions of the National Building Code of Canada.
Codes and Standards | Aug 24, 2021
KTGY releases free resource to reduce carbon footprint in multifamily developments
Helps navigate Denver Green Code measures—a series of voluntary codes.
