Oregon House Bill (HB) 4139: Using ODOT Procurement to Cut Embodied Carbon

Introduction

House Bill 4139, passed in 2022 and effective June 3, 2022, directs ODOT to create a program to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from construction and maintenance of Oregon’s transportation system. Instead of being a voluntary green-building label, it is a binding requirement on ODOT: the agency must collect environmental product declarations (EPDs) for certain materials, run life-cycle assessments, and devise strategies to cut emissions from fuels and construction products.

Implementation is centered on ODOT’s highway projects. The law and accompanying program documents require EPDs for concrete, steel and asphalt used to construct and maintain the state highway system, and ODOT has developed an EPD Program Manual (referencing ORS 184.879 and OAR 731-005-0910) to govern how those disclosures are collected on “eligible ODOT contracts.” A Technical Advisory Committee supports ODOT with program design, LCAs and reporting to the Legislature and Transportation Commission, positioning HB 4139 as Oregon’s core “Buy Clean”-style policy for transportation infrastructure.

Reporting implications for companies

For contractors and material suppliers, HB 4139 creates concrete climate-reporting obligations tied to ODOT work rather than a general building-code requirement. In outline, the law and ODOT guidance mean that:

• EPDs are required on covered ODOT contracts: When ODOT procures “covered materials” for the state highway system, it must require bidders and proposers to submit EPDs, typically before installing those materials, with a limited allowance for later submittal for asphalt paving mixtures. Covered materials currently include asphalt, cement concrete and steel.

• EPDs must meet recognised standards: The EPD Program Manual points suppliers to specific Product Category Rules for asphalt, ready-mix and shotcrete, precast, concrete masonry units, and structural/reinforcing steel, reflecting ISO 14025/EN 15804-type requirements and placing the onus on producers to use the latest valid PCRs.

In summary, companies supplying asphalt, concrete or steel to ODOT will need to: identify which product lines go into ODOT projects, work with recognised program operators to generate facility- or mix-specific EPDs, align those with ODOT’s PCR guidance, and integrate EPD submittals into their standard bidding and project-documentation workflows.

Current status and future outlook

HB 4139 is in force and actively being implemented. Since the policy came into effect in June 2022, ODOT has since stood up an EPD program, published an EPD Program Manual and created a technical advisory committee to steer implementation. EPD collection for asphalt, cement concrete and steel on eligible ODOT contracts is already underway, supported by supplier workshops and guidance materials hosted on ODOT’s construction and climate pages.

At this stage, the focus is on building a robust dataset and institutional capacity: tracking the emissions from major material categories, running life-cycle assessments, and reporting annually to the Legislature and Oregon Transportation Commission on progress and options for deeper reductions. In parallel, Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality is planning to fund EPD development for concrete and other materials, which should make it easier and cheaper for suppliers to comply.

Looking ahead, suppliers can reasonably expect ODOT to tighten expectations over time: using the EPD and LCA data to set performance benchmarks, refine specifications and prioritise lower-carbon mixes within procurement rules, especially after the 2027 date when the current ban on EPD-based bid scoring is lifted. While HB 4139 is limited to ODOT’s transportation system, its program may inform broader “Buy Clean” discussions in Oregon’s built-environment policy.

Resources

• Oregon Legislature – HB 4139 (2022) overview and bill text.

• ODOT – Environmental Product Declarations hub: (program rationale, PCR links, EPD Program Manual, supplier workshop materials).

• ODOT – EPD Program Manual (2026 edition) (detailed EPD collection requirements tied to ORS 184.879 and implementing rules).

• Oregon DEQ – Embodied carbon and concrete EPD programs.