Label Program for Low Embodied Carbon Construction Materials

The EPA is implementing a new label program to help federal purchasers and other buyers find and buy cleaner, more climate-friendly construction materials and products. The label program is made possible by a $100 million investment from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and aims to cut climate pollution linked to the production of construction products and materials, which accounts for more than 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. The Inflation Reduction Act invests billions of dollars to reduce industrial emissions while supporting good union jobs, greater equity, and a strong manufacturing base, including $350 million to support EPA’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from construction materials. 

Label Program Approach 

On August 7, 2024, the EPA issued its guidance for Identifying Low Embodied Carbon Construction Materials. The label program Labeled Program Approach will define what constitutes “clean” construction materials in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s landmark Buy Clean Initiative, which leverages the Federal Government’s power as the world’s largest purchaser to catalyze demand for clean construction materials used in federal buildings, highways, and infrastructure projects. Materials and products that earn the label will be listed in a central, publicly accessible registry, making it easier to identify – and therefore purchase – these materials.

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pollution Prevention Jennie Romer at an event at the Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse, a Chicago-area nonprofit organization, ​​​​​​to celebrate their $3.9 million grant to support the use of data collected at its two reuse stores and through its deconstruction services to demonstrate the reduced embodied greenhouse gas in salvaged construction materials. Through this project, they will develop 25 EPDs and train 150 participants through a workforce training program.

The label program will prioritize steel, glass, asphalt, and concrete, as there are significant opportunities to reduce carbon emissions from these materials and they represent the vast majority of construction materials and products purchased with federal funds. 

The EPA will implement the program using a phased approach that all material categories will be able to follow at a cadence that aligns with the material’s market maturity and data availability. These phases are: 

Phase I: Data Quality Improvement. Standardizing and improving the quality of data underlying and provided by EPDs.

Phase II: Threshold Setting. Using robust EPDs, data, and other credible and representative industry benchmarks to determine thresholds for specific material categories and types.

Phase III: Labeling Materials and Products. Labeling materials and products that meet the EPA’s criteria.

The label program will offer a tiered rating system for construction materials and products. Thresholds will be informed by a public input process before being finalized and will be periodically reviewed and updated to encourage continuous improvement and help users meet sustainability objectives. The top threshold tier will be designed to help recognize and reward innovative efforts to achieve deep reductions in embodied carbon associated with these construction materials and products.  

To earn the label, manufacturers will submit an EPD for their materials to demonstrate that they meet the eligibility criteria. The label program will determine which recognition level a construction material is eligible for based on information provided in EPDs. EPA’s label program will use a conformity assessment and verification approach for EPDs aligned with the existing EPD verification system, and consistent with standards and best practices within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 17000 series, and those required by the EPA’s Framework for Assessing Environmental Performance for Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing.

Potential Inclusion of Additional Materials

EPA will consider the inclusion of other materials in the label program as time and resources allow and if materials sectors take the actions necessary to move through the phases of the label program, including: 

• developing and/or updating the relevant product category rule to meet EPA Product Category Rule Criteria and
• generating a sufficient number of EPDs to ensure there is representative data upon which to create thresholds. 

Learn more about how additional materials may be included in the program in the Label Approach for Identifying Low Embodied Carbon Construction Materials.