Last week, the General Services Administration (GSA) published low-carbon requirements for several different building materials, including concrete and cement and announced it would pilot the new specifications on 11 different projects over the next six months. The Inflation Reduction Act directed the Environmental Protection Agency, among other agencies, to establish low-carbon standards for construction materials with substantially lower embodied carbon for use in certain federally-funded projects. The requirements for concrete are listed for strength classes ranging from 2500 psi to over 7000 psi.
There are three different Global Warming Potential (GWP) limits for concrete, including the top 20% performance limit (preferred); top 40% performance limit (acceptable) and 50% performance limit (better than average). To meet the requirements, concrete producers will need to produce Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in accordance with the North American Product Category Rule for Concrete.
Although it is unclear how GSA set the GWP limits, they appear to be in line with NRMCA benchmarks for carbon footprint. The NRMCA Benchmark Report helps design teams establish limits for carbon footprint on projects. NRMCA did provide input to GSA regarding the requirements during their development and some of the NRMCA recommendations were incorporated into the specification.
NRMCA is an EPD Program Operator and verifies EPDs that would qualify for GSA projects. Visit the NRMCA EPD page or contact Matthew Lemay at mlemay@nrmca.org for guidance on publishing EPDs. You may also contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org or Andrew Tyrrell, atyrrell@nrmca.org for more information about the Inflation Reduction Act and NRMCA’s involvement.
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association