New York's Buy Clean Concrete Guidelines: A State Program Design That Persists Despite Federal Buy Clean Rescission
ENFORCEMENT TIMELINE
Guidelines published September 2023; full application to public works projects in 2024/2025
Overview
New York's Buy Clean Concrete guidelines derive from state legislation (State Finance Law §136-d, enacted via bill S542A in December 2021) and took effect in June 2022. The law requires the state Office of General Services (OGS) to develop guidelines mandating the procurement of low-carbon concrete for state projects the agency deems appropriate; formal guidelines were published in September 2023. In parallel, Executive Order 22 (issued June 2023, providing embodied carbon guidance) imposes a quantity-reporting obligation where an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) exists.
New York was also one of the founding member states of the Federal-State Buy Clean Partnership, and, as covered under [[gri-us]]'s companion card `us-federal-buy-clean-rescission-and-state-programs-2025`, this state-level program has continued to operate independently even after the rescission of federal Executive Order 14057 in January 2025. In 2025, a further bill—the Sustainable Building Materials Act (Assembly Bill A6566)—was also under consideration, covering steel and glass in addition to concrete, reflecting continued momentum toward expanded tax incentives for low-carbon building materials.
Enforcement Timeline
December 2021: State Finance Law §136-d (bill S542A) is enacted
June 2022: The Buy Clean Concrete requirement takes effect
June 2023: Executive Order 22 (embodied carbon guidance) is issued, adding an EPD-based quantity-reporting obligation
September 2023: OGS publishes formal Buy Clean Concrete guidelines
January 2025: Federal Executive Order 14057 is rescinded; New York's state-level program continues to operate independently
2025 legislative session: The Sustainable Building Materials Act (A6566), covering steel and glass in addition to concrete, is under consideration
Business Impact
Suppliers of concrete and other building materials for New York state projects should recognize that the Buy Clean Concrete mandate remains fully in force at the state level notwithstanding the federal rescission of Executive Order 14057, and should also monitor the Sustainable Building Materials Act (A6566), which would extend a similar low-carbon procurement framework to steel and glass if enacted, given that its passage would broaden the range of building materials subject to state-level low-carbon procurement requirements.