Success of US Green Product Strategy Is Backed by Data, GSA Says

The White House’s bid to spur markets for green building materials appears to be working, according to new data the Biden administration will release on Thursday.

The findings would validate the White House’s strategy of using its own massive purchasing power to buy low-carbon concrete, steel, glass, and other products.

In so doing, the administration aims to encourage more companies to get into those sectors, driving prices down and boosting the products’ availability while setting an example for private builders to follow.

The success of the plan has faced uncertainty as many developers remain unconvinced about switching vendors, changing practices they’ve been using for decades, and potentially paying more for green products.

The General Services Administration on Thursday will reveal that manufacturers have published some 17,000 new environmental product declarations (EPDs) over the past year. That finding indicates both that the market wants materials made with lower emissions and that industry is providing them, according to the GSA.

EPDs are labels that show how much carbon went into a given product’s manufacture. Companies have said they struggle to calculate how much carbon goes into their products, and have suggested that financial incentives for creating the labels would help nudge them toward doing it.

But the GSA said it has seen labels increase 15% increase for concrete, 60% for structural steel plate, and fourfold for asphalt.

Similarly, the number of flat glass manufacturers making glass that meets the GSA’s most-stringent top 20% global warming potential limits has tripled.

“This definitely gives me confidence that we’re heading in the right direction” for low-embodied concrete, asphalt, glass, and steel, said Jetta Wong, the GSA’s deputy chief of staff for policy to the administrator.

The GSA wasn’t surprised by the results, because it had earlier done extensive market research when the infrastructure law provided $3.4 billion to invest in federal buildings, according to an agency official who requested anonymity in order to speak freely.

The GSA also said companies have been offering low-carbon materials at prices similar to, or only slightly higher than, their conventional alternatives. The agency couldn’t provide pricing details because that information could negatively influence existing procurements, the official said.

In some markets—including rural markets where the federal government has a lot of projects but relatively few local manufacturers are operating—high prices remain a concern, according to the official.

As a whole, the GSA will continue to use its enormous purchasing power to try to shape the green products market, Wong said.

“GSA is a market-driven organization,” she said. “We are going to continue to buy low-embodied carbon construction materials. The approach may change depending on the product and on where the market tells us we need to go.”

“By making it easier for federal purchasers to identify more sustainable construction materials, we are transforming the way we build at a national scale and at the same time, improving the health of our communities,” said Jennie Romer, who heads up the pollution prevention section at the Environmental Protection Agency’s chemicals office.

In November the GSA unveiled $2 billion for 154 projects that use advanced concrete, steel, glass, and asphalt.

The GSA issued requirements for low-embodied carbon materials last May, under the 2022 climate law. That law delivered $2.2 billion to the agency for green construction materials.

“The GSA’s purchases of clean steel, concrete, and glass for federal buildings is catalyzing the industrial transformation we need to ensure a thriving economy and protect the future for generations to come,” said Ali Zaidi, President Joe Biden’s national climate adviser. He also said the strategy revitalizes the US manufacturing base and creates good-paying jobs in industrial communities.

Residential and commercial buildings make up about 29% of total US greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. The GSA is the nation’s biggest landlord, managing 370 million square feet across the nation, giving it the ability to meaningfully bring down emissions.