Michael S. Regan 16th Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency | Official Website
On August 7, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the implementation of a new label program aimed at boosting clean American manufacturing. This initiative is designed to assist federal purchasers and other buyers in identifying and purchasing cleaner, more climate-friendly construction materials and products. The program is supported by a $100 million investment from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, which seeks to reduce climate pollution associated with the production of construction materials—a sector responsible for over 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.
The Inflation Reduction Act allocates billions of dollars to cut industrial emissions while supporting union jobs, equity, and a robust manufacturing base. This includes $350 million specifically earmarked for EPA's efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions from construction materials.
“Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, America has an opportunity to lead the world in developing cleaner construction materials to cut climate pollution and reap unprecedented economic opportunities,” said Michal Freedhoff, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “By clearly labeling what ‘buy clean’ means for products like concrete, glass, and steel, EPA will help accelerate demand for these materials and continue to build the clean energy economy.”
Elliot Doomes, Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), emphasized the significance of this legislation: “The Inflation Reduction Act is the most significant carbon-cutting piece of legislation in history. GSA is proud to work with EPA, other government agencies, and private industry to use our buying power to drive the development of more sustainable building materials.”
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Associate Administrator for Infrastructure Hari Kalla highlighted another aspect: “The use of lower carbon materials that have the durability of conventional materials while lowering greenhouse gas emissions is one pathway that FHWA is pursuing to help us achieve President Biden’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050.”
This announcement follows EPA's July selection of 38 organizations set to receive nearly $160 million collectively. These funds are intended to aid businesses in developing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which report on climate pollution linked to construction material production.
The label program aims to define "clean" construction materials as part of the Federal Buy Clean Initiative under the Biden-Harris Administration. The initiative seeks market growth and innovation rewards for American-made lower-carbon construction materials. Labeling requirements will be reviewed every two to four years based on market shifts.
Additionally, over $2 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act will support GSA's use of clean materials in federal building projects and FHWA's incentivization or reimbursement programs for using such materials in transportation projects.
Federal purchasing significantly impacts industries like concrete; federally funded purchases account for over half of all concrete poured annually in the U.S. Materials earning this new label will be listed publicly for easier identification and purchase.
Priority will be given initially to steel, glass, asphalt, and concrete due to their substantial potential for reducing climate pollution.
Supporting documents released by EPA include guidelines for developing EPDs—disclosures communicating environmental impacts—and methodologies assessing life cycle data quality among others.
Developed with input from various stakeholders including federal agencies like FHWA and GSA as well as public comments solicited earlier this year through Notices published in Federal Register along with a Request For Information issued last year—the program aims at ongoing stakeholder engagement during its development phase.
Next steps involve seeking input on draft conformity assessment systems verifying product eligibility based on EPDs or other data sources along with draft product type thresholds setting standards determining eligible labeled products or material types.
Manufacturers interested can contact EPA via embodiedcarbon@epa.gov or visit their website.
