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
| Oct 4, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011
Click here for the latest news and products from Greenbuild 2011, Oct. 4-7, in Toronto.
| Oct 4, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: Johnsonite features sustainable products
Products include rubber flooring tiles, treads, wall bases, and more.
| Oct 4, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: Large diameter polypropylene-random pipe unveiled
Available in North America for large scale piping applications including high-rise buildings, large chilled water systems, district energy, and water mains.
| Oct 4, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: Ready-to-use wood primer unveiled
Maintains strong UV protection, clarity even with application of lighter, natural wood tones.
| Oct 4, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: Two new recycled glass products announced
The two collections offer both larger and smaller particulates.
| Oct 4, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: Mythic Paint launches two new paint products
A high performance paint, and a combination paint and primer now available.
| Oct 3, 2011
Magellan Development Group opens Village Market in Chicago’s Lakeshore East neighborhood
Magellan Development Group and Hanwha Engineering & Construction are joint-venture development partners on the project. The Village Market was designed for Silver LEED certification by Loewenberg Architects and built by McHugh Construction.
| Sep 28, 2011
Bradley sponsors design studio on intelligent buildings for UWM SARUP
The studio is taught by Gregory D. Thomson, assistant professor and co-director of the Institute for Ecological Design at UWM.
