Building Back Better With Clean Materials Offers Big GHG Savings

The Build Back Better Act offers a unique opportunity to ensure that billions in infrastructure investments go hand-in-hand with purchases of cleaner industrial building materials. The industrial sector produces the essential goods we need for modern society, like concrete and steel, but it is on track to become the top source of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the decade. Cleaning up U.S. heavy industry is thus critical to achieving near-term climate targets, alongside the power, transportation, and buildings sectors. As a top purchaser of industrial materials like concrete and steel for the construction of roads, bridges, buildings, and other projects, the federal government can use its purchasing power to accelerate the transformation of U.S. industry by creating early markets for low carbon products. This is particularly true when federal procurement is paired with direct investments in industrial decarbonization and other complementary policies. Doing so will not only cut emissions but support good jobs and strengthen our manufacturing base.