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Specify CarbonCure as an allowed means of meeting clearly defined concrete performance requirements—not as a substitute for structural design, durability criteria, code compliance, or the engineer of record. Set the project’s strength, exposure, fresh-concrete, placement, curing, documentation, and embodied-carbon requirements first. Then ask qualified local suppliers for a project-specific mix design and product-specific Type III environmental product declaration (EPD), compare the proposed mix’s global-warming potential (GWP), and approve it only after the normal technical and jurisdictional reviews.
What CarbonCure changes—and what it does not
CarbonCure is a concrete-production technology in which carbon dioxide is introduced during mixing. CarbonCure’s technical summary describes the carbon dioxide as mineralizing in the concrete and states that the product meets ASTM C494 Type S requirements. Those are vendor-published statements about the technology; they do not establish that every proposed mixture will satisfy a particular project’s strength, durability, placement, or code requirements.
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The technology does not remove the need for a conventional concrete mixture submittal. The supplier still has to identify the cementitious materials, aggregates, water, admixtures, target strength, exposure classification, fresh-concrete properties, production controls, curing approach, and test evidence required by the project documents. The engineer of record (EOR) remains responsible for determining whether the proposed mixture is acceptable for the design and applicable code.
Availability is also project-specific. A general CarbonCure guide or technical sheet does not prove that a participating ready-mix or precast supplier serves your site, can produce the required volume, or can meet your placement schedule. Confirm local supply, batching capability, delivery distance, backup arrangements, and documentation before treating the technology as a procurement option.
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Define the project requirements before mentioning a technology
The specification should begin with outcomes the completed concrete must achieve. Establish these requirements with the structural engineer, durability specialist where applicable, contractor, owner, and authority having jurisdiction (AHJ).
Structural performance
- Specified compressive strength and the age at which it is measured.
- Strength-development expectations that affect stripping forms, post-tensioning, loading, or schedule.
- Elastic, shrinkage, creep, modulus, or other properties identified by the design.
- Maximum aggregate size, placement geometry, reinforcement congestion, and pump or discharge constraints.
Exposure and durability
- Applicable exposure classes and durability provisions in the governing code.
- Air-entrainment needs, permeability or chloride-resistance criteria, sulfate or chemical exposure, freeze-thaw conditions, and temperature-related requirements where the design calls for them.
- Limits on cementitious materials, water-to-cementitious-material ratio, or other mixture parameters only when those limits are justified by the exposure and design.
Fresh concrete, placement, and curing
- Slump or slump-flow range, air content, temperature, set characteristics, finishability, and allowable admixture adjustments.
- Delivery time, pumping distance, discharge sequence, consolidation method, finishing window, and placement rate.
- Curing method, curing duration, hot- or cold-weather controls, and any requirements tied to early-age cracking or surface quality.
- Testing, acceptance, rejected-load procedures, trial batches, and documentation required by the project manual.
These criteria are the baseline against which every supplier proposal should be judged. A lower reported GWP cannot compensate for a mixture that fails a required exposure, strength, constructability, or approval condition.
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CarbonCure’s specification guide recommends performance specifications and cautions against prescriptive restrictions that are not needed for the project. Examples it identifies include an arbitrary minimum cement content, restrictions on supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), and an unnecessarily strict water-to-cementitious-material ratio. Such requirements can prevent otherwise compliant mixtures from being proposed.
That advice does not mean deleting every prescriptive limit. The EOR must decide which limits are required by the governing code, exposure, structural design, fire strategy, finishing method, curing plan, or owner standard. Remove or relax a limit only after documenting why the project can safely rely on performance testing or another acceptance method.
A sound specification describes the required result and then allows more than one technically acceptable route. It can state that concrete may use carbon-dioxide mineralization, including CarbonCure, when the proposed mixture meets all specified performance, durability, placement, and code requirements. The technology name should never replace measurable acceptance criteria.
Step-by-step procurement and approval workflow
- Set the design criteria. Record strength, exposure, durability, fresh-concrete, placement, curing, testing, schedule, and documentation requirements for each concrete class or placement category.
- Check the governing rules. Identify the adopted building code, concrete standard, owner sustainability policy, public-procurement rule, and AHJ review process. Treat any low-carbon procurement threshold as controlling only when it appears in the current contract or official rule.
- Draft an open performance specification. Permit CO₂-mineralization technology when the proposed mixture satisfies the project criteria. Avoid naming one process as the only acceptable solution unless the owner and EOR have a documented, lawful reason to do so.
- Conduct a local supplier inquiry. Ask qualified ready-mix and precast suppliers whether CarbonCure is available for the project location, concrete classes, quantities, delivery windows, and proposed placement methods. Confirm who will prepare the mix and who will provide the EPD.
- Require a complete submittal. Request the proposed mixture proportions, constituent sources, target and strength data, exposure and durability evidence, fresh-concrete information, production controls, product-specific Type III EPD, and any qualification or trial-batch records.
- Review the mixture and EPD together. Compare the GWP reported for the actual proposed mixture with the owner’s target, cap, or bid-evaluation method. Confirm that the EPD scope, declared unit, plant, constituent data, validity period, and concrete class correspond to the submitted mixture.
- Verify compatibility and constructability. Check the proposed SCMs, chemical admixtures, aggregates, air system, batching sequence, delivery route, pumping, finishing, and curing plan. Require supplier testing when the combination or sequencing differs from previously qualified work.
- Obtain formal approval. The EOR and AHJ should review the mix design, test data, EPD, requested deviations, and code compliance before production. Record conditions of approval and the documents that must be present at the plant and site.
- Control production and closeout. Use the approved mixture identification, batch records, field tests, delivery tickets, nonconformance process, and as-built sustainability documentation. Do not permit an unreviewed substitution of cementitious materials, admixtures, supplier, or production plant.
What to require in the supplier’s mix-design submittal
A useful submittal lets the reviewer tie the EPD and test evidence to the exact concrete that will be delivered. Require, at minimum, the following information for each mixture:
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- Mixture identification, supplier, production plant, intended placement, and proposed quantity or supply period.
- Cement type and quantity; SCM type and quantity; aggregate sources and gradations; water; chemical admixtures; and the CarbonCure component or process identified in the supplier’s current technical documentation.
- Specified strength, target strength, test age, historical data or trial-batch results, and any early-strength information needed for the schedule.
- Exposure classification, durability testing or qualification, air-entrainment approach, permeability or chloride criteria, and other project-specific evidence.
- Slump or slump-flow range, air content, temperature limits, set expectations, pumpability, finishing requirements, and allowable water or admixture adjustments.
- Batching sequence, carbon-dioxide introduction point, production controls, quality-control testing, and handling directions from the current product documentation.
- Product-specific Type III EPD for the proposed mixture or concrete product, with its declared unit, life-cycle scope, plant or product coverage, publication date, validity, and reported GWP.
- Records demonstrating supplier qualification, trial batches, compatibility testing, or prior acceptance when required by the project documents.
CarbonCure’s project submittal resource is a useful starting format, but the project specification should control the required contents. A generic brochure, corporate average, or EPD for a different mixture is not a substitute for the proposed product’s documentation.
How to compare GWP and Type III EPDs
Use the EPD to compare like with like. The relevant figure is the GWP for the proposed concrete mixture, not a generalized statement about the technology. Confirm that competing EPDs use comparable declared units and life-cycle boundaries and that each one covers the same concrete class, production plant, and constituent assumptions.
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| Review item | What to verify | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Product identity | The EPD identifies the supplier, plant or product range, mixture or strength class, and the concrete represented. | A low value for another mixture or plant cannot be assigned to the submitted concrete. |
| EPD type | It is a product-specific Type III EPD accepted by the project’s sustainability or procurement rules. | Product-specific documentation supports a defensible comparison; a broad corporate claim may not. |
| Declared unit and scope | Declared unit, life-cycle modules, allocation rules, and included constituents are understood and comparable. | Different boundaries can make two numerical GWP values misleading to compare directly. |
| Validity and date | Publication date, validity period, program operator, and any plant or product limitations are current. | An expired or superseded EPD may not satisfy the contract or represent current production. |
| Reported GWP | GWP for the actual proposed mixture is recorded with its units and declared basis. | This is the value to test against an owner target, cap, or bid formula. |
| Performance alignment | Strength, exposure, durability, SCM content, and other performance data match the submitted mix. | A lower-carbon mixture that misses a required performance class is not an acceptable option. |
An owner can choose among several procurement approaches described in CarbonCure’s specification guide. The contract should state the approach before bids are evaluated.
| Procurement approach | How it works | Decision point |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest-GWP compliant mix | Among mixtures that satisfy every technical requirement, select the proposal with the lowest reported GWP. | Define how ties, EPD comparability, substitutions, and verification will be handled. |
| GWP cap | Require each acceptable proposal to remain below a stated project limit. | Set the limit from the owner’s adopted rule or project analysis, not from an unsupported general assumption. |
| Price-premium evaluation | Allow an acceptable additional cost for a lower-GWP mixture under the owner’s stated evaluation formula. | Publish the premium, scoring method, and documentation required for payment or award. |
CarbonCure’s contractor FAQ discusses Type III EPDs and U.S. General Services Administration Buy Clean requirements. Its figures and threshold tables are vendor explanations, not a substitute for the current solicitation or official rule. If the project is federally funded or subject to a Buy Clean provision, verify the live GSA requirement and the contract’s applicable concrete category before setting a threshold.
Compatibility, testing, and mixture qualification
CarbonCure’s engineer FAQ reports compatibility with commonly used SCMs and classes of admixtures based on the company’s testing and customer feedback. Treat those statements as vendor-reported experience, not as a universal approval for every combination of materials, dosage, climate, plant, or construction sequence.
Require the supplier to demonstrate compatibility under the project’s conditions when any of the following applies:
- The cement, SCM, aggregate, or chemical-admixture source differs from the supplier’s qualified combination.
- The project requires a new strength class, exposure class, air system, high-range water reducer, accelerator, retarder, or specialty admixture.
- The placement involves long haul times, mass concrete, congested reinforcement, difficult pumping, rapid finishing, cold weather, hot weather, or unusual curing.
- The mixture relies on early-age strength, low shrinkage, low permeability, or another property not demonstrated by the submitted evidence.
- The supplier proposes a change to batching sequence, plant, carbon-dioxide delivery, constituent proportions, or production controls.
Use trial batches, laboratory testing, mock-ups, or field qualification when required by the project criteria. The test plan should identify specimens, test methods, acceptance limits, test ages, responsible laboratory, and the process for resolving a failed result. Do not turn a vendor-reported dosage or handling direction into a field instruction unless it appears in the supplier’s current technical data and has been accepted by the responsible project professionals.
Plan construction logistics, not just the mixture
A technically compliant mixture can still fail if it cannot be delivered or placed reliably. During preconstruction, document:
- Plant location, expected haul time, truck capacity, dispatch plan, and backup supplier or plant arrangements.
- Carbon-dioxide supply and equipment responsibility, maintenance, calibration, and contingency procedures.
- Batch-ticket information that identifies the approved mixture and records constituent or process changes.
- Site testing locations, frequency, acceptance personnel, communication path, and hold points for unusual placements.
- Placement sequence, pump setup, discharge rate, consolidation, finishing window, curing materials, and protection from weather.
- Procedure for a rejected load, out-of-range slump or air, delayed delivery, equipment interruption, or proposed water addition.
Include the supplier’s current safety and handling information in the project’s hazard-control process. The construction team should know who may operate or service the carbon-dioxide equipment and how an interruption affects batching and delivery.
Write a neutral specification clause, then tailor it
The following concept reflects CarbonCure’s guide but is not authoritative code or legal language. The EOR, owner, specification writer, procurement officer, and AHJ must adapt it to the project.
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Concrete may use CO₂-mineralization technology, including CarbonCure, where the proposed mixture complies with all specified performance, durability, exposure, placement, curing, testing, and applicable code requirements. Submit the proposed mix design, a product-specific Type III EPD reporting GWP for the proposed mixture, and supporting qualification documentation for review.
Complete the clause with the project’s concrete classes, submittal timing, trial-batch requirements, EPD rules, GWP evaluation method, testing, substitution procedure, and approval authority. If the owner has a GWP cap or scoring method, state the exact metric and verification process in the procurement documents. Do not rely on a generic downloadable clause without checking the current project criteria and supplier documentation.
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| Party | Primary responsibility |
|---|---|
| Owner and procurement team | Set sustainability objectives, decide whether to use a GWP cap, lowest-GWP award, or price-premium method, and publish the evaluation rules. |
| Engineer of record | Define structural and durability requirements, evaluate the mix design and test evidence, and approve or reject the proposed concrete for the design. |
| Concrete supplier | Provide the actual mixture, current technical documentation, product-specific Type III EPD, qualification evidence, production controls, and delivery support. |
| Contractor | Coordinate supplier capacity, placement and curing logistics, field testing, approved submittals, and substitution controls. |
| Authority having jurisdiction | Review the proposal where the adopted code, permit, public contract, or local procedure requires AHJ acceptance. |
Maintain the approved mix design, EPD, test reports, trial-batch records, delivery tickets, field-test results, nonconformance reports, and final sustainability records together. This creates an auditable link between the concrete installed and the GWP or performance claim used in procurement.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Common specification failures and how to correct them
Using a technology name as the acceptance criterion
Failure: The specification says “use CarbonCure” but does not state strength, exposure, durability, placement, testing, or approval requirements.
Correction: Keep measurable performance criteria primary and list CO₂ mineralization as an allowed means of compliance.
Prescribing a cement content that is higher than the design needs
Failure: An inherited minimum cement-content clause blocks a supplier’s lower-GWP mixture without a documented structural or durability reason.
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Correction: Ask the EOR whether the limit is required for the exposure, strength development, finishing, curing, or code. Retain it when justified; otherwise replace it with an appropriate performance requirement.
Prohibiting SCMs or setting an unnecessarily restrictive water-to-cementitious-material ratio
Failure: A prescriptive rule prevents qualified mixtures from being offered.
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Correction: Review the project’s actual durability and constructability needs, then use performance testing or justified limits rather than a blanket prohibition.
Comparing a generic carbon claim with a project-specific EPD
Failure: A bidder presents a corporate average or a document for a different mixture, and the team treats it as the GWP of the proposed concrete.
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Correction: Require a product-specific Type III EPD tied to the proposed mixture, plant, declared unit, scope, and validity period.
Assuming availability from published materials
Failure: The team discovers after award that no local supplier can produce the required class or volume on the schedule.
Correction: Conduct a documented supplier inquiry before bid, identify backup arrangements, and make availability and submittal timing part of the procurement plan.
Treating vendor compatibility statements as project qualification
Failure: The team assumes that compatibility with common SCMs or admixtures guarantees performance with its local materials.
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Using an outdated Buy Clean threshold
Failure: A vendor FAQ’s historical figure is copied into a current federal or public contract.
Correction: Check the current official solicitation and applicable rule, then state the controlling requirement and documentation in the project documents.
Project-team checklist
- Have the EOR and durability reviewers defined the required strength, exposure, durability, fresh-concrete, placement, curing, and testing criteria?
- Does the specification allow a compliant CO₂-mineralized mixture without making the technology name the acceptance criterion?
- Were unnecessary minimum cement, SCM, or water-to-cementitious-material restrictions reviewed and justified?
- Has a local ready-mix or precast supplier confirmed availability for the required classes, quantities, plant, and schedule?
- Does the submittal identify the exact mixture, constituents, plant, production process, and qualification evidence?
- Is the Type III EPD product-specific, current, comparable, and tied to the proposed mixture?
- Was the reported GWP compared using the owner’s published cap, scoring method, or lowest-GWP rule?
- Were compatibility, trial-batch, early-strength, durability, pumping, finishing, and curing needs evaluated for the actual project?
- Have the EOR, contractor, owner, and AHJ completed their required reviews before production?
- Are field testing, delivery-ticket identification, substitution control, and closeout records defined?
When these controls are in place, CarbonCure can be considered through the same disciplined process as any alternative concrete mixture: define the required outcomes, obtain comparable supplier evidence, evaluate the actual proposed product, and approve it only when the project’s technical, logistical, code, and procurement requirements are all satisfied.
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