Andover Climate Action Plan: What Manufacturers Should Do Now

What Andover’s plan actually commits

Andover’s draft Climate Action and Sustainability Plan lays out 37 actions across buildings, energy, mobility, natural resources, public health and safety, and waste, all aligned to net‑zero by 2050 and interim checkpoints in 2030 and 2040 (Town of Andover, 2023) (Town of Andover, 2023). The headline for manufacturers is simple, buildings are the priority lever and the town is now moving from planning to procurement.

The code shift manufacturers should clock

At its 2025 Annual Town Meeting, Andover voted to adopt Massachusetts’ Municipal Opt‑in Specialized Energy Code, joining 48 other communities at the time (Town of Andover, 2025) (Town of Andover, 2025). The Specialized Code tightens performance rules for new construction, accelerates all‑electric readiness, and raises the bar for envelope and systems. That means design teams will squeeze operational carbon harder, then turn to materials to keep whole‑building targets on track.

Why this points straight to EPDs

When operational loads drop, embodied impacts stand out like subtitles on a quiet scene. Project teams will need transparent, third‑party verified EPDs to model and compare materials cleanly across bid alternates and VE rounds. Even if Andover’s CAP does not publish a numeric embodied‑carbon cap for private projects, expect municipal RFPs and owner standards to reference EPDs more often as LEED v5 matures and owners benchmark portfolios.

What gets asked for first

Think high‑volume, high‑leverage assemblies. Ready‑mix and precast concrete, insulation, gypsum board, roofing, metal panels, aluminum curtainwall, flooring, adhesives and sealants, MDF and plywood, and rebar are frequent early asks. If a competitor already publishes a product‑specific EPD, the absence of yours forces pessimistic assumptions during carbon accounting, which can nudge you off the spec without a debate on performance or price.

Pick the right PCR without spinning your wheels

A PCR is the rulebook of Monopoly, ignore it and the game falls apart. The practical move is to check which PCRs competitors used for similar products in recent declarations, then select the same family unless a newer, better‑fit PCR is already in effect. Pay attention to PCR revision clocks so your declaration does not bump into an update mid‑cycle.

Data collection, minus the busywork

Teams dread the data chase more than the modeling. Pull utility bills, production volumes, inbound material mixes, scrap and yields, packaging, and freight legs for a single reference year. For new SKUs with limited history, a prospective EPD based on a few months of production can work, with a required refresh once a full year is available. The trick is ruthless coordination so engineers and plant leads keep building product, not spreadsheets.

Timelines buyers actually care about

Spec writers and CMs mainly care that an EPD exists and is current within its validity window. Newer is nice, but unless an EPD expires within months, age rarely becomes a tie‑breaker. What does matter is alignment to the typical PCR in your category so your numbers compare apples to apples in early carbon studies.

Local proof points to watch

Andover already showcases high‑performance, all‑electric public work, like West Elementary, as a model for future development under the Specialized Code (Town of Andover, 2025). DOER’s 2025 code framework outlines three code levels that municipalities can follow and update, which is why these local adoptions ripple through private projects the moment architects standardize templates across clients (Massachusetts DOER, 2025) (Massachusetts DOER, 2025).

A quick, no‑drama playbook for Andover‑area bids

• Shortlist five revenue‑critical SKUs and confirm the prevailing PCR per SKU.
• Assemble one clean data room per plant, one reference year, one owner.
• Publish with a reputable program operator and set a reminder for renewal at least six months ahead of expiry.

Bottom line for commercial teams

Andover’s climate plan and code adoption move embodied carbon from “later” to “now.” The fastest path to holding spec is simple, get credible, product‑specific EPDs in place for the SKUs that win most bids, then expand. It is not glamorous work, but it is the difference between being considered and being quietly swapped out. Do not wait for the RFP to require it, by then it is already too late and thats the rub.