Steel interests have misgivings about the fairness of a California law, enacted last month, intended to minimize carbon footprints of certain construction materials used in state-funded building projects by requiring all products to have a global warming potential less than the industry average. The Buy Clean California Act will require a successful bidder to submit an environmental product declaration—a product’s climate-change profile—for “eligible materials.”
Carbon-steel rebar, flat glass, mineral-wool board insulation and structural steel are listed. Concrete and wood are not.