The LEED program moved the needle toward more sustainable products and increased transparency as architects incorporated LEED requirements into project specifications. Although a voluntary program, by implementing requirements into the specifications, product manufacturers had to comply regardless if they wanted to supply products to LEED projects. Thus, LEED was highly influential in raising awareness in the construction industry to topics such as EPDs and environmental impacts.
The latest push toward product transparency is coming from all levels of the government. Starting from the top, in December of 2021, the Biden administration issued Executive Order (EO) 14057, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability.3 This order sets government-wide goals for federal agencies related to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, transitioning to carbon-pollution-free electricity and zero-emission fleets, achieving net-zero-emission buildings, and incorporating sustainable acquisition and procurement practices, among others.
Two pieces of legislation were passed that allocated funding to assist in meeting the requirements of EO 14057, the IIJA1 and the IRA.2 The IIJA allocated funding focused on three main areas: repairing transportation projects; improving the resilience of infrastructure to climate change, cybersecurity risks, and other hazards; and implementing quality internet service more equitably. Funding through the IIJA is targeted toward states, local, and tribal agencies, and is less prescriptive than the funding allocated in the IRA.
As part of the IRA, federal agencies were allocated funding for the use of low-carbon materials. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) was allocated $2.15 billion to support the installation of low-embodied carbon-materials on construction and renovations projects, while the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) was allocated $2 billion to facilitate the use of construction materials and products that have substantially lower embodied GHGs.
To assist in meeting the requirements of the IRA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was charged with setting the definition of “low-embodied-carbon materials.” EPA issued its initial determination of “low embodied carbon” in December 2022,4 using a quintile approach. For the purposes of meeting the IRA requirements, EPA states low-embodied-carbon materials are those in the lowest 20 percent percentile of global warming potential (GWP) values when evaluating all possible materials in a product category (relative to the industry average).
GWP, also referred to as climate change potential, “describes potential changes in local, regional, or global surface temperatures caused by an increased concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere, which traps heat from solar radiation through the ‘greenhouse effect.”5 The gases CO2, methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) are some of the GHGs grouped together in the GWP impact category. GWP is reported in units of kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
GSA was the first federal agency to issue draft guidelines related to low-embodied-carbon materials and IRA funding. It issued the draft IRA Low Embodied Carbon Material Standards for concrete, asphalt, steel, glass, and cement in January 2023 with a request for information (RFI) to stakeholders. As of July 2023, GSA’s revised IRA Low Embodied Carbon Material Standards for concrete, asphalt, steel, glass, and cement have not been released.
