Municipal building, Hastings, NY
On Monday May 18, 2020 the Board of Trustees of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY passed a resolution committing the village of 8,000 to promoting the use of low-embodied carbon concrete (LECC) products for building and infrastructure projects within the Village. The OpenAir Collective’s own Ion Simonides was instrumental in drafting the Hastings Resolution and getting it passed.
The Hastings Resolution was modeled in part on the CO2 mineralized concrete resolutions passed by Honolulu, HI, Austin, TX, and the US Conference of Mayors. While those resolutions focused exclusively on CO2 mineralized concrete, this resolution takes a broader approach by promoting the use of all low-embodied carbon concrete products.
The Village of Hastings is the first municipality in the state of New York to pass a resolution regarding low-embodied carbon concrete, but this is just the beginning. The language of the Hastings Resolution allows it to be easily replicated by local governments (i.e. towns, municipalities, counties) throughout New York State and across the country. Ion and a team of OpenAir collectors are working to spread the Hastings Resolution to every and any local government interested in lowering the greenhouse gas emissions from concrete in their communities.
Adopting a resolution like this is an excellent first step for municipalities and logically supports the adoption of more specific low embodied carbon concrete policies suchs asLECC procurement policy OR incorporating LECC into local building codes. In an effort to help local governments navigate the implementation of LECC policies, the OpenAir community is currently working on a practical “how-to” guide/toolkit geared specifically for local-level governments. Look out for the Low-Embodied Carbon Concrete Procurement Toolkit for Local Governments coming in early July.
Interested in joining the OpenAir community to advance low embodied carbon concrete in your community? Join the effort here.
