CO SB159

The Department of Personnel must establish maximum acceptable global warming potential standards for six eligible building materials (carbon steel rebar, flat glass, mineral wool insulation, structural steel, concrete, and cement) by January 1, 2022, based on industry averages from national or international environmental product declaration databases.

Contractors awarded public project bids issued after July 1, 2021 must submit facility-specific environmental product declarations for each eligible material and cannot install materials until declarations are submitted; agencies must include global warming potential specifications in bid documents.

The Department may make downward adjustments to global warming potential standards every four years starting January 1, 2024 to reflect industry improvements, but cannot increase standards.

Competitive sealed best value bid evaluations must now consider the facility-specific global warming potential of eligible materials and the cost of avoided emissions for the project as evaluation factors.

The Department must report to the General Assembly by January 1, 2022 on its methodology for developing standards and by January 1, 2023 on implementation obstacles and effectiveness in reducing emissions.