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Slabs contribute up to 2/3 of the volume of a concrete building’s superstructure and represent a high potential for emission savings. With the objective to minimize GHG emissions in slabs by optimizing concrete strength and thickness, a parametric analysis on one-way slab designs was conducted. The results suggested that deflection control was the governing design factor in all cases, and that important savings are associated with reduced concrete strength and thinner slabs. Considering these findings, an experimental program was carried out to investigate the accuracy of CSA A23.3:24 provisions for deflections. Six one-way slab specimens were tested to flexural failure, one after being subjected to long-term loading for 96 days. The results indicated that CSA A23.3:24 provided good predictions on short-term deflections, but greatly overestimated the values after a period of sustained load. This suggests the possibility of further reductions in embodied GHG emissions associated with potential thickness reductions.