The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will provide 38 grant recipients with nearly $160 million to support efforts to report and reduce climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials and products.
The grants will be awarded to businesses, universities, and nonprofit organizations to help disclose the environmental impacts associated with manufacturing concrete, asphalt, glass, steel, wood, and other materials. The grants will support the Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which leverages the U.S. government’s position as the largest purchaser on Earth to catalyze demand for clean construction materials used in federal buildings, highways, and infrastructure projects.
Ranging from $250,000 to $10 million, the grants will help businesses develop environmental product declarations (EPDs) that show environmental impacts across the life of a product and can catalyze more sustainable purchasing decisions by allowing buyers to compare products. Investments in data and tools will make high-quality EPDs available for 14 material categories, which include both new and salvaged or reused materials.
Grant recipients include:
• A company in Georgia that will report the emissions savings gained by switching from higher-carbon components in cement and concrete to recycled and innovative materials.
• A company in Maine that manufactures insulation made from wood fiber will track the quantity of energy and raw materials used in each of their processes.
• A nonprofit organization in Illinois that sells reused architectural materials will measure how much the salvaged materials reduce carbon emissions.
• A large insulation manufacturer based in Indiana will use grant funding to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions for their full product portfolio.
• A major university will use grant funds to research and document carbon emissions savings from reusing structural steel.
Related Stories
| Dec 12, 2011
CRSI design awards deadline extended to December 31
The final deadline is extended until December 31st, with judging shortly thereafter at the World of Concrete.
| Dec 10, 2011
10 Great Solutions
The editors of Building Design+Construction present 10 “Great Solutions” that highlight innovative technology and products that can be used to address some of the many problems Building Teams face in their day-to-day work. Readers are encouraged to submit entries for Great Solutions; if we use yours, you’ll receive a $25 gift certificate. Look for more Great Solutions in 2012 at: www.bdcnetwork.com/greatsolutions/2012.
| Dec 10, 2011
Energy performance starts at the building envelope
Rainscreen system installed at the west building expansion of the University of Arizona’s Meinel Optical Sciences Center in Tucson, with its folded glass wall and copper-paneled, breathable cladding over precast concrete.
| Dec 10, 2011
Turning Balconies Outside In
Operable glass balcony glazing systems provide solution to increase usable space in residential and commercial structures.
| Dec 7, 2011
NSF International qualifies first wallcoverings distributor to the New American National Standard for Sustainable Wallcoverings
TRI-KES demonstrates leadership in environmental stewardship as the first distributor to earn qualification.
| Dec 7, 2011
Autodesk agrees to acquire Horizontal Systems
Acquisition extends and accelerates cloud-based BIM solutions for collaboration, data, and lifecycle management.
| Dec 5, 2011
New York and San Francisco receive World Green Building Council's Government Leadership Awards
USGBC commends two U.S. cities for their innovation in green building leadership.
| Dec 5, 2011
Summit Design+Build begins renovation of Chicago’s Esquire Theatre
The 33,000 square foot building will undergo an extensive structural remodel and core & shell build-out changing the building’s use from a movie theater to a high-end retail center.
| Dec 5, 2011
Fraser Brown MacKenna wins Green Gown Award
Working closely with staff at Queen Mary University of London, MEP Engineers Mott MacDonald, Cost Consultants Burnley Wilson Fish and main contractor Charter Construction, we developed a three-fold solution for the sustainable retrofit of the building.
