A Low-Carbon Concrete Building Code

Addressing embodied carbon in construction - towards "Real Zero" buildings

New, Fall 2018!

Concrete accounts for 8% of our global greenhouse gas emissions, but we are technologically able to bring that number drastically down - and mandating reductions seems like a great way to make it happen.

With a grant from the [San Francisco] Bay Area Air  Quality Management District,the Counties of Marin and Alameda are working with EBNet and a host of local partners on an amendment to the International Building Code [IBC] that will prescribe limits to the embodied carbon in concrete of various strengths. Partners in this exciting project include: Marin and Alameda Counties, StopWaste, Arup, Central Concrete, and the Carbon Leadership Forum.

We do not intend to submit this to the IBC for adoption; but, rather, to local jurisdictions to adopt in triennal code updates. The language and formatting will follow the IBC because it serves as the base template for most building codes around North Americaq, such as the California Building Code.

First drafts of code language, sample mix designs, and model specifications will be ready in late 2018, with final versions ready for adoption completed by Fall 2019. We’ll update progress as it happens on this page.

A Low-Carbon Concrete Building Code - pdf