On September 28, 2023, the EPA announced new funding opportunities for enhancing the development and verification of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) within the construction materials and products sector. This grant program, set forth to support the Inflation Reduction Act Section 60112, aims to reduce emissions in one of the United States’ most carbon-intensive industries through transparency and standardization regarding embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in construction and building materials. Disclosure of embodied carbon through EPDs is an integral component of existing and emerging “buy clean” legislation, and this grant opportunity is aimed at facilitating the comparison of construction materials and products during procurement processes.
Embodied carbon (or GHG) is defined as the emissions generated throughout the life cycle of a product. This includes upstream emissions from extraction, production, transportation, and manufacturing, and sometimes emissions from downstream use and disposal at the end of life. There are many methods in use to quantify and track embodied carbon for construction materials. However, inconsistencies between programs and lack of robust, reliable data can complicate the comparison of products.
The manufacturing of construction materials and products makes up 11% of annual GHG emissions globally. Billions of tons of these materials will need to be produced over the coming decades to maintain the nation’s built environment and develop new infrastructure for the United States’ clean energy and climate-resilient transformation. The Federal Buy Clean Initiative was launched by the Biden-Harris Administration to kickstart demand for American-made, low-embodied carbon construction materials for use in future upgrades to the United States’ infrastructure. States, local governments, and other institutions have also begun implementing Buy Clean programs to ensure that products with low embodied carbon are selected for use in projects and development. As EPDs become more standardized, informative, and widespread across the construction materials and products sector, publicly and privately funded projects will be able to more reliably select products with lower embodied carbon, and subsequently incentivize producers to disclose and/or reduce their carbon emissions to improve marketability.
EPA announced that the grant program for embodied GHG disclosure improvements will award up to $100 million in funding for projects in fiscal year 2024. Projects are expected to be broken down into five broad categories that focus on topics ranging from data analysis to platform development for verification and reporting. Additional funding may be made available over the course of the five-year funding cycle. Grants will be available to businesses that manufacture, remanufacture, or refurbish construction materials and products, and U.S. states, territories, Indian Tribes, and nonprofit organizations that will support such businesses.
EPA is accepting grant applications until January 8, 2024. EPA will be holding two informational webinars on November 2 and November 14, 2023, to discuss the grant program in further detail.
Trinity Consultants has extensive experience with direct emissions quantification, life cycle assessment, development of EPDs, and implementation of decarbonization programs within the building materials and products sector. To further discuss these assessments and to learn how Trinity Consultants can assist your company, please reach out to Wendy Merz, Director of Sustainability Services, at
[email protected].
