The Biden administration is moving to put U.S. government purchasing power behind construction materials with lower embodied carbon emissions and pollutants, with the White House launching a “Buy Clean Task Force” on Feb. 15. as part of a slate of initiatives intended to decarbonize manufacturing while boosting the economy.

The effort will identify materials to prioritize for consideration in federally funded projects, looking at impacts across their lifecycle, including manufacturing, the announcement states. It will also launch pilot programs to boost federal procurement of cleaner construction materials.

任务不得已伸出e members come from the US. Depts. of Defense, Energy and Transportation, US Environmental Protection Agency, US General Services Administration and White House Office of Management and Budget.

公告指出，工作队还将寻求通过供应商报告来提高体现的排放透明度。通过激励措施或技术援助来帮助材料制造商减少体现的排放并更好地报告。

Some state transportation agencies have moved to promote lower embodied emissions materials, but this federal effort has the potential to have wider-reaching effects.

国际生活未来研究所的首席执行官Lindsay Baker表示，联邦政府是全球最大的商品和服务买家，年度购买力超过6500亿美元。促进绿色建筑标准。

“As more buildings pursue net zero, the share of carbon pollution coming from materials choices will continue to grow,” Baker said in a statement. “Buy Clean approaches are critical, both to daylight the big differences in carbon intensity among and across materials, and to drive purchasing power at low-carbon options.”

Eric Stuart, vice president of environment and sustainability for the Steel Manufacturers Association, says the U.S. steel sector stands to benefit from a government-structured buying program that recognizes the value of greener products. Investments in electric arc furnace steelmaking in the U.S. have resulted in a process that emits only a third of the greenhouse gas emissions of more traditional processes.

The U.S. has the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per ton of steel produced among the world’s top seven steel producing countries, says Max Puchtel, director of government relations and sustainability at the American Institute of Steel Construction. Both steel groups anticipate working with officials on the effort, they said.

“We’re excited to see the government coming around to recognizing that value and making decisions that will help use U.S. tax dollars to purchase domestically produced materials,” Stuart says.

联邦机构已经开始为这项倡议而努力。

On the same day as the White House’s announcement, GSA released two requests for information seeking industry knowledge on environmental product declarations forconcreteandasphalt材料。它将使用这些响应来创建国家低碳混凝土和可持续的沥青标准，该标准将用于11月制定的《基础设施投资和就业法》资助的土地港口入境项目。新利18备用网址官员说，这些标准可能包括要求供应商披露其产品的生命周期影响。

“Building materials are a major contributor to global emissions, and we’re excited to hear from industry about innovative products and approaches that can reduce carbon pollution while strengthening our homegrown manufacturing base,” Sonal Larsen, GSA senior advisor on climate, said in a statement.

白宫说，运输部正在计划一项试点计划，以增加环境产品声明的使用并激励使用低碳材料。

The Portland Cement Association has said its members will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by targeting emissions across different stages of the material’s lifecycle. Michael Ireland, president and CEO of PCA, said in a statement that the administration's initiatives reflect the group's thinking. It plans to work with government agencies on the effort, he added.

钢铁制造商协会的斯图尔特说，如果政府后来也采取了为钢铁添加钢铁的环境披露，那么钢铁制造商的文档可以解释其排放量。

“It’s the right time for this type of buying apparatus to be put in place by the federal government, because it will allow us to educate the government as to the nature of our products, and benefit the domestic economy as a result,” he says.