The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the allocation of $3,887,329 in funding to Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse, a Chicago-area nonprofit organization. The funds aim to support efforts to report and reduce climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials. According to EPA estimates, construction materials used in buildings and infrastructure contribute more than 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.
"As America continues to build more and upgrade our nation’s infrastructure under President Biden’s leadership, cleaner construction materials like concrete and steel are increasingly essential for the nation’s prosperity," said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. "These historic investments will expand market access for a new generation of more climate-friendly construction materials and further grow American jobs that are paving the way to the clean energy economy."
White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory added, "President Biden and Vice President Harris are leading the most ambitious climate and clean energy agenda in U.S. history and building a sustainable future using safer materials for the environment and for communities. By leveraging the U.S. Government’s purchasing power, President Biden is ensuring that American manufacturing is positioned to compete and lead globally while catalyzing markets and accelerating innovation across the country."
The grants from President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in history—are part of a broader initiative aimed at reducing climate pollution by helping businesses measure carbon emissions associated with extracting, transporting, and manufacturing their products.
Nationally, 38 organizations have been selected to receive a total of $160 million in Clean Construction Materials grants. Other organizations funded in EPA Region 5 include Knauf Insulation Inc., HOLCIM US Inc., Heidelberg Materials US Inc., University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Oklahoma State University.
These grants will support the Biden-Harris Administration's Federal Buy Clean Initiative which uses government purchasing power to drive demand for clean construction materials used in federal projects.
Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse operates two reuse retail stores in Evanston and Chicago where it diverts building materials from landfills through deconstruction services. The organization will use collected data to demonstrate reduced embodied greenhouse gas emissions in salvaged construction materials by developing 25 environmental product declarations (EPDs), training 150 participants through its workforce program, and sharing data online.
The goal is to improve greenhouse gas data quality associated with salvaged materials, provide tools for practitioners, create updated EPDs demonstrating significant embodied carbon reduction, and spur market demand.
EPA is also expanding technical assistance opportunities nationwide initially offering EPD development support through resources like those provided by the ENERGY STAR Industrial program. This effort aims to standardize high-quality EPDs available for both new and reused material categories enabling federal agencies to make more sustainable purchasing decisions.
Together with technical assistance programs made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022—which provides over $4 billion combined funding through General Services Administration (GSA)Exit EPA's websiteand Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)Exit EPA's websitefor low embodied carbon material use—the initiatives aim at significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions while supporting American jobs.
Selections are contingent upon completion of legal requirements with grantees expected to receive funding by late summer.
