PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of West Virginia University Research Corporation (WVU) to receive $2,486,224 to support efforts to report and reduce climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials. WVU is one of 38 selectees across the country that were announced on July 16, 2024, as part of a $160 million grant rollout.
Billions of tons of concrete, asphalt, steel, glass and other construction materials and products are required to build, maintain, and operate U.S. buildings and infrastructure. The EPA estimates that the construction materials used in buildings and other built infrastructure account for more than 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.
“As America continues to build more and thrive under President Biden’s leadership, cleaner construction materials like concrete and steel are increasingly essential for the nation’s prosperity,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "These historic investments will expand market access for a new generation of more climate-friendly construction materials, and further grow American jobs that are paving the way to the clean energy economy.”
WVU will provide technical assistance to construction material manufacturers in the region to develop environmental product declarations (EPDs). Their project will support businesses to create comprehensive life cycle assessments that show environmental impacts and enhance their competitiveness in supplying products for federal and institutional construction projects.
“The grant allows us to continue elevating our energy and sustainability research profile and our commitment to serving communities, as the project focuses on lifting small business in rural and disadvantaged areas in West Virginia and neighboring states,” said Fred King, Vice President for Research at WVU. “We are grateful for the Environmental Protection Agency acknowledging and supporting the hard work and trailblazing research happening at West Virginia University, our state's land-grant, flagship, R1 institution.”
The project will leverage existing WVU networks and partnerships with organizations like the West Virginia Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the West Virginia Office of Economic Development.
Environmental product declarations (EPDs) show environmental impacts across the life of a product and can catalyze more sustainable purchasing decisions by allowing buyers to compare. Investments in data and tools will make high-quality EPDs available for 14 material categories, which include both new and salvaged or reused materials. These efforts will help standardize and expand the market for construction products with lower greenhouse gas emissions. They will make it easier for federal, state, and local governments and other institutional buyers to ensure the construction projects they fund use more climate-friendly products and materials.
EPA is also announcing expanded technical assistance opportunities to businesses, the federal government, and other organizations across America. EPA will initially offer EPD development support and direct businesses to resources to help them measure and reduce the embodied carbon associated with their materials, such as those provided by the ENERGY STAR Industrial program. Federal agencies and their suppliers will be able to compare the climate impact of various materials to drive near-term greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Robust EPD data will be further strengthened by a new label program under development that will identify low carbon construction materials for the growing Buy Clean marketplace.
Together, the grants and technical assistance programs will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support American jobs. These programs are made possible by the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which creates significant investments aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction, transport and manufacturing of construction materials and products. The Inflation Reduction Act also provides more than $2 billion to the General Services Administration to use low embodied carbon materials in the construction and renovation of federal buildings and $2 billion to the Federal Highway Administration to incentivize or reimburse the use of low embodied carbon construction materials in certain transportation projects.
Selections are contingent upon completion of legal and administrative requirements and grantees are tentatively expected to receive their funding in late summer.
Learn more about the Biden-Harris Administration’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative .
The EPA has a new ArcGIS Story Map that explores the infrastructure, community, and revitalization work in West Virginia. This easy-to-use tool shows where some of the $500 million the EPA has invested in West Virginia is being used, what communities and environmental resources are benefiting from infrastructure projects, and how the public and stakeholders can learn more about current EPA activities in the state. Learn more about how the EPA works in West Virginia by visiting our new public Story Map here.