Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed the 2021-23 Biennium Budgets into law Tuesday afternoon. The budgets make critical progress on Buy Clean and Buy Fair by funding the creation of a database to track building materials purchased for state-funded infrastructure projects and two large Buy Clean and Buy Fair pilot projects.

The BlueGreen Alliance worked alongside multiple coalition partners to secure these two essential budget provisos to promote transparency around public spending and move toward leveraging state spending to cut embodied carbon and promote high-labor standards in manufacturing.

After the signing, the BlueGreen Alliance released the following statements:

“A robust tracking system will help us ensure that Washington State buys clean and buys fair when it comes to building materials purchased with public dollars for state construction projects.

“Buy Clean and Buy Fair policies ensure we’re spending taxpayer dollars wisely. These budgets are an important step forward. The bottom line is that public money should level the playing field for manufacturers that invest in pollution controls and treat workers fairly—not give dirty manufacturers with poor labor standards an unfair advantage.” – BlueGreen Alliance Washington State Policy Coordinator Jessica Koski

“The Evergreen State just took a step toward exiting the race to the bottom. Buy Clean and Buy Fair is a public policy that is good for workers and good for the environment. It will signal to the market what we value — justice and dignity for workers and serious, enforceable, rational protections of the environment.” – USW District 12 Director, Gaylan Prescott

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