Biden administration officials are launching a new product labeling program they say will facilitate efforts by contractors and project owners to identify and use more low-carbon materials and building products on federal projects.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Aug. 7 that the new “environmental product statement” labeling program — established under the Inflation Reduction Act — aims to reduce emissions climate related to the production of construction materials, which contribute more than 15% of the annual global greenhouse gases. emissions The program provides methodology and data to define what are “clean” materials and develops a tiered ranking system that recognizes the most innovative solutions, the EPA said.
The program will be phased in to implement the administration’s Buy Clean initiative, initially launched through a presidential executive order in December 2021.
Michael Freedhoff, the EPA’s deputy administrator for chemical safety and pollution prevention, said in a statement that labeling products such as concrete, glass and steel with low carbon content “will accelerate the demand for these materials and will continue to build the clean energy economy.”
The $100 million program will prioritize products — steel, glass, asphalt and concrete — that have the greatest decarbonization potential and represent the majority of construction materials and products that U.S. agencies buy with federal funds, according to the ‘EPA. About 50 percent of all concrete used in the U.S. each year is for federally funded projects, according to the agency.
The announcement follows EPA’s selection in July of 38 organizations to receive a total of nearly $160 million to support business efforts to develop environmental product claims. Grant recipients include the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, the Portland Cement Association, the American Wood Council, Atlas Roofing Corp., as well as cement and concrete manufacturer Holcim and several universities.
The types and scope of projects vary. The Portland Cement Association will receive more than $2.4 million to lead a project to improve the quantity and quality of reporting, developed in partnership with the American Coal Ash Association, the Natural of Pozzolans and the Slag Cement Association. The groups say the project will significantly increase the number of cementitious material facility-specific statements that will improve the quality of information available to consumers.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provides $350 million in total to support EPA’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from construction materials, and also allocates $2 billion to the US General Services Administration to use clean materials in the construction and renovation of federal buildings and $2 billion to the Federal Highway Administration to incentivize or reimburse the use of clean construction materials in transportation projects.
“Using lower carbon materials that have the durability of conventional materials while reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one way. [the agency] is pursuing to help achieve President Biden’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050,” Hari Kalla, FHWA’s associate administrator for infrastructure, said in a statement.
