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.
Task force 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.
The task force will also seek to increase embodied emission transparency through supplier reporting, the announcement states, including. through incentives or technical assistance to help materials manufacturers reduce embodied emissions and better report them.
Some state transportation agencies have moved to promote lower embodied emissions materials, but this federal effort has the potential to have wider-reaching effects.