LENEXA, Kan. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of Holcim U.S. Inc. in Missouri, to receive $1,371,814 in grants to support efforts to report and reduce climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials. EPA estimates that the construction materials used in buildings and other built infrastructure account for over 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.
In the U.S., Holcim is the largest cement manufacturer and top five producer of aggregates and ready-mix concrete, with approximately 7,000 employees. Holcim’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Accelerator Project will increase the transparency of data on environmental emissions associated with the production of construction materials; generate robust EPDs with a diversity of manufacturers from across the U.S.; and drive market demand for lower carbon construction materials. These projects represent the three construction materials in Holcim’s portfolio: cement, asphalt, and ultra-high-performance concrete.
“As America continues to build more and upgrade our nation’s infrastructure under President Biden’s leadership, cleaner construction materials like concrete and steel are increasingly essential for the nation’s prosperity,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “These historic investments will expand market access for a new generation of more climate-friendly construction materials, and further grow American jobs that are paving the way to the clean energy economy.”
“We commend Holcim for their work in advancing sustainable practices to reduce carbon emissions here in the Heartland and across our nation,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “Their innovative approach, supported by this grant, advances climate-friendly practices and sustainability in one of our nation’s most important industries.”
The grants will help businesses develop robust, high-quality EPDs, which show environmental impacts across the life of a product and can catalyze more sustainable purchasing decisions by allowing buyers to compare. Investments in data and tools will make high-quality EPDs available for 14 material categories, which include both new and salvaged or reused materials. These efforts will help standardize and expand the market for construction products with lower greenhouse gas emissions.
They will make it easier for federal, state, and local governments and other institutional buyers to ensure that the construction projects they fund use more climate-friendly products and materials.
EPA is also announcing expanded technical assistance opportunities to businesses, the federal government, and other organizations across America. EPA will initially offer EPD development support and direct businesses to resources to help them measure and reduce the embodied carbon associated with their materials, such as those provided by the ENERGY STAR Industrial program. Federal agencies and their suppliers will be able to compare the climate impact of various materials to drive near-term greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Robust EPD data will be further strengthened by a new labeling program under development that will identify low-carbon construction materials for the growing Buy Clean marketplace.
Together, the grants and technical assistance programs will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support American jobs. These programs are made possible by the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which creates significant investments aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction, transport, and manufacturing of construction materials and products. The Inflation Reduction Act also provides over $2 billion to the General Services Administration to use low embodied carbon materials in the construction and renovation of federal buildings, and $2 billion to the Federal Highway Administration to incentivize or reimburse the use of low embodied carbon construction materials in certain transportation projects.
Selections are contingent upon completion of legal and administrative requirements and grantees are tentatively expected to receive their funding in late summer.