What's New:

The Concrete Industry Board is excited to announce our podcast series: Concrete Conversations.  

Episode 1: Concrete Legends — Building the NYC Skyline (Part 1)
Episode 2: Champion of Industry- Allan Paull
Episode 3: One Shot to Get It Right: Military Precision in the Shotcrete Trade

Response to Proposed Embodied Carbon Legislation 

The Concrete Industry Board of New York (CIB) appreciates the efforts of the Mayor’s office and the Department of Buildings to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete. We at the CIB have been educating our membership and the concrete industry on sustainable concrete, EPDs, and methodologies to reduce carbon footprint for the past few years, developing roadmaps and guidelines for the industry on how to safely achieve those goals. 

 VIEW FULL RESPONSE & RECOMMENDATIONS

October 23, 2024

Concrete and cement account for 8% of global CO2 emissions. In response, New York State's Office of General Services (OGS) now requires all state-funded projects to provide an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for concrete mixes and meet emissions limits starting January 1, 2025. Currently, projects can voluntarily submit EPDs, as of January 1, 2024. EPDs measure environmental factors like Global Warming Potential (GWP) in kgCO2e/cubic yard. For more information on OGS standard aka NYS Buy Clean, visit: NYS - NYS Buy Clean Concrete Guidelines | Office of General Services

The Concrete Industry Board (CIB) of New York has developed a Green Concrete Guideline, which goes beyond the state’s requirements, offering various metrics to reduce environmental impact, including:

·        Cement weight in the mix

·        Cement weight in the mix - Normalized cement weight for compressive strength

·        EPD

·        Self-calculated GWP for A1 emissions only (partial EPD) for batch plants not yet producing EPD’s (A1-A3 emissions) for a submitted mix

New York City (NYC) is currently in the process of developing EPD requirements and GWP limits for concrete as well. For city-funded projects, the Mayor’s Office is implementing EO23 of 2022, Clean Construction. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently released a low carbon concrete specification that includes GWP upper limits for 4,000psi and 5,000psi mixes and the NYC Department of Buildings is also considering the same processes.

While commercial projects are not yet regulated, many owners are proactively adopting green practices to reduce GWP. The CIB Green Concrete Guidelines offer flexible, eco-friendly solutions for those aiming to lead in decarbonization. Together, we can change the impact of concrete on the planet.

VIEW THE CIB GREEN CONCRETE GUIDELINES

DOWNLOAD THE CIB'S CARBON GRADING PROPOSAL LETTER TO THE COMMISSIONER

CARBON LETTER GRADING