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Building Code Council work session focuses on embodied-carbon appendix and three sponsored amendments
Summary
At a July 21, 2026 work session the Building Code Council reviewed three sponsored amendments to an embodied‑carbon appendix that would create product, whole‑building and reuse compliance pathways. Members flagged ambiguity in definitions, table scope, and numeric thresholds and agreed to refine the draft within two weeks.
The Building Code Council convened a special work session July 21 to review proposed amendments aimed at limiting the embodied carbon of new and renovated buildings. Chair Todd Byerther opened the session and said the meeting would prioritize the embodied‑carbon appendix, asking sponsors to present three amendment packages that had been reformatted from a Carbon Leadership Forum submission.
Vice Chair Jay Arnold said the CLF input was split into three changes: clarifications and technical edits to Option 1, updates to the covered‑materials table, and clarifications for Option 2. "I have broken up their recommended changes, into the 3 amendments," Arnold said, adding that Option 1 functions as a superset of Option 2 and that proceeding through Option 1 first would make the most progress.
The council spent much of the session on high‑level choices: whether the appendix should include a single numeric threshold or a bracket of options (80, 90, 100 percent of the table values), how to treat products that lack industry average EPDs, and whether the materials pathway should remain part of a final code recommendation. Multiple members emphasized the need for clearer code language and to preserve a usable set of standards for local jurisdictions.
Council members agreed to continue working on revisions outside the plenary session and to post a revised amendment within roughly two weeks. The chair asked sponsors and technical experts to submit competing amendments as necessary so the full council could review them in a subsequent work session.
