July 16, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the selection of 38 grant recipients across the country, totaling nearly $160 million, to support efforts to report and reduce climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials and products. EPA estimates that the construction materials used in buildings and other built infrastructure account for more than 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.

Billions of tons of concrete, asphalt, steel, glass and other construction materials and products are required to build, maintain and operate our country’s buildings and infrastructure. The U.S. leads the world in the production of clean construction materials, and these transformative awards from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in history—will reduce climate pollution by helping businesses measure the carbon emissions associated with extracting, transporting and manufacturing their products.

The grants will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which leverages the U.S. government’s sway as the largest purchaser on Earth to catalyze demand for clean construction materials used in federal buildings, highways, and infrastructure projects. The grants will be awarded to businesses, universities and nonprofit organizations serving all 50 states and will help disclose the environmental impacts associated with manufacturing concrete, asphalt, glass, steel, wood and other materials.

Source: EPA.GOV