CALGreen

Effective July 1, 2024, the CALGreen Building Code has new mandatory provisions for non-residential and school construction for lower embodied carbon concrete and related construction materials. The CALGreen Embodied Carbon options will initially apply to new buildings or renovations over 100,000  square feet, and schools over 50,000 square feet. The code will provide potential paths for how concrete can meet the requirements: 1) be part of a whole building life cycle assessment to reduce carbon by 10%; 2) meet product specific global warming potential (GWP) targets based on 175% of regional averages; or 3) be part of a weighted average for all concrete used in the building. In addition, the code has more aggressive, but voluntary, options for buildings and schools seeking even more embodied carbon reduction. 
 
The new code also has a number of new provisions that allow concrete producers expanded options for recycled materials, supplementary cementitious materials, and set-time.  
 
Below are resources to assist concrete producers.

CALGreen Embodied Carbon – excerpt of mandatory provisions
CALGreen Concrete Materials – excerpt of voluntary provisions
Embodied Carbon and CALGreen Embodied Carbon Requirements – by the CA Energy Codes & Standards;  A Statewide Utility Program
CA Building Standards Commission – CALGreen Code for non-residential CAL Green Guides, and CALGreen Checklists
State Architect – CALGreen Code for schools