The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday awarded $160 million in grants to spur the production of environmental product declarations (EPDs). As a critical element of the Biden-Harris administration’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative and the Inflation Reduction Act, EPDs help provide transparency around the embodied emissions associated with the production of infrastructure materials such as steel, concrete, asphalt, and flat glass. 

The EPA awarded 38 businesses, universities, and nonprofit organizations serving all 50 states to measure—and then lower—the carbon emissions associated with making these products. Grant recipients will be required to use these EPDs to communicate the environmental impact of a product and ensure they meet the reduced emissions standards. 

Currently, the manufacturing of materials for buildings and other infrastructure accounts for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  

The grants underscore the administration’s commitment to Buy Clean, a policy that helps to ensure the products and materials used for public projects like infrastructure improvements are the cleanest and most sustainable available.  

Following this announcement, the BlueGreen Alliance released a statement from Executive Director Jason Walsh: 

“Federal procurement is a powerful lever for driving investment in low carbon materials. When paired with the range of made in America policies the administration has championed, Buy Clean provides a major boost to domestic manufacturing. We’ve supported Buy Clean initiatives around the country and applaud the administration for making these policies standard practice when building public infrastructure. It makes sense that public dollars should support manufacturers who are investing in a sustainable future. However, while some of the grant recipients will be represented by labor unions, we encourage the other entities—such as universities and nonprofits—to prioritize further distribution of funds to those companies who support workers’ right to organize. Making workers the priority in this transition to cleaner manufacturing will keep our country headed in the right direction.”