EPA Welcomes Input on Technical Documents for Cleaner Construction Materials and Shares Action Plans for 2025

Releases New Program Name, EPA C-MORE (Construction Material Opportunities to Reduce Emissions) Program

Released December 19, 2024

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is calling for stakeholder input on draft technical documents for low embodied carbon construction materials and is sharing action plans for 2025. Newly renamed, EPA’s Construction Material Opportunities to Reduce Emissions (C-MORE) program is a multi-pronged approach to support U.S. manufacturers in lowering operating costs, achieving efficiencies and accessing new markets while helping federal purchasers and other buyers find and buy cleaner, more climate-friendly construction materials.

The program invites manufacturers and others interested in lower embodied carbon construction materials to review and refine these draft materials, which are designed to help accelerate development of this emerging marketplace.

EPA is releasing the following documents for comment:

• U.S. EPA C-MORE Draft EPD Criteria for Data Quality and Transparency
• U.S. EPA C-MORE Interim Digital Data Format for EPDs (to support the Draft EPD Criteria)
• U.S. EPA C-MORE Draft Approach for Developing Product-Level Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions Thresholds
• Draft Product Eligibility Criteria Template for the U.S. EPA Label Program for Low Embodied Construction Materials

EPA is also publishing other program information, including:

• a schedule of upcoming opportunities for stakeholder engagement
• additional materials to support ongoing data quality improvement efforts
• an update on EPD data quality status by material category (details included at the end of this announcement)

Please send feedback to [email protected].

In the coming weeks, EPA anticipates sharing additional information and tools. EPA also plans to hold webinars in early 2025 to provide an overview of key documents and give stakeholders an additional opportunity to provide input. Following this period of initial input, EPA intends to provide formal review and comment opportunities for key documents in 2025.

These new documents follow on EPA’s publication of the Implementation Approach for Labeling Low Embodied Carbon Construction Materials, Criteria for Product Category Rules to Support the Label Program for Low Embodied Carbon Construction Materials and other key technical documents in August 2024. The program also launched its technical assistance offerings in November 2024 by issuing a step-by-step guide for manufacturers new to developing EPDs and opening access to free EPD advisory services. The program’s 38 selected grantees will also soon begin projects that support the development of environmental product declarations (EPDs) across a broad range of industries.

With these documents and programs, EPA aims to improve quality of EPDs, to standardize product-level global warming potential values to be used in definitions of “embodied carbon” throughout the United States, and to develop its label program. 

The Year Ahead

In 2025, in addition to offering formal feedback opportunities on the documents listed above, the program will continue to support increasing the quantity and quality of EPDs available in the marketplace through technical assistance efforts, including:

• A PCR Development Toolkit and Training
• An Industry-specific EPD Verifier Training Program
• EPD Verification Checklists/Templates based on PCRs
• A Webpage Resource One-Stop Shop for Construction Product PCRs, Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and EPDs
• A Guide to Using Upstream EPDs as Within Other EPDs
• A PCR Checklist to Assess Alignment with EPA PCR Criteria

Update for Industry and Buy Clean Implementers on EPD Data Quality by Material Category

EPA is also providing a status of data quality efforts for EPDs and product-level embodied greenhouse gas emissions thresholds for the subset of construction materials EPA is currently focusing on – asphalt, concrete, glass and steel - as well as salvaged and reused construction materials. For the full update, please visit EPA’s C-MORE webpage.

Asphalt

At the federal level, the General Services Administration (GSA) has successfully procured and installed low embodied carbon asphalt mixtures for projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. At the request of the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highways Administration (DOT-FHWA), the National Asphalt Paving Association (NAPA) and industry partners recently published an extensive benchmarking effort.

Additionally, EPA has determined that NAPA’s Product Category Rules for Asphalt Mixtures (version 2.0) meet the baseline requirements of EPA’s Product Category Rule (PCR) Criteria. This success enables EPA to initiate the process of developing thresholds for asphalt products in early 2025. EPA’s thresholds will build on the approaches and thresholds-setting activities of GSA and DOT-FHWA, per EPA’s December 2022 Interim Determination.

EPA has selected multiple organizations to receive EPD Assistance grants to support the continued development of asphalt EPDs and related emissions quantification tools, including $13.8 million dollars in dedicated funding to the asphalt sector and $32.7 million in funding for projects that include asphalt EPDs, among other construction materials. These grants will fund the development of several PCRs for asphalt mixture ingredients and will continue to improve the quality of asphalt mixture EPDs.

Concrete

Within the federal government, GSA has successfully procured low embodied carbon concrete for Inflation Reduction Act funded projects. At the request of DOT-FHWA, the concrete ready-mix production industry has published an updated industry benchmarking report.  A committee including representatives from DOT-FHWA, EPA, and GSA is currently updating the PCR for ready-mix concrete.

EPA is also reviewing PCRs for other concrete products, such as precast concrete, for alignment with EPA’s PCR Criteria. EPA has determined that SmartEPD’s Part B Product Category Rules for Supplementary Cementitious Materials (version 1.0) meets the baseline requirements of EPA’s PCR Criteria.

EPA has selected multiple entities in the concrete industry for over $42.5 million dollars in EPD Assistance grants. These grants will enable efforts to develop EPDs in all 50 states and address multiple concrete products and their ingredients, such as cement, supplementary cementitious materials and aggregates.

Additionally, $1.6 billion in grants organized by the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology is supporting decarbonization efforts in the concrete and cement industries.

Given the progression of PCR updates and EPD development, EPA anticipates establishing thresholds for some concrete products by the end of 2025.

Glass

In response to GSA low embodied carbon construction material procurements, two flat glass manufacturers have created EPDs for their products for the first time.

Additionally, EPA has selected the National Glass Association for a $2 million EPD Assistance grant to update the Flat Glass PCR and the Processed Glass PCR, expand the number of EPDs in these categories, and explore methods to increase recycling rates for glass. This work is expected to begin in earnest in early 2025, with the goal of establishing PCRs that meet EPA’s PCR Criteria later in the year.

In addition to EPA’s grant, in January 2024, Department of Energy’s (DOE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office selected the Glass Manufacturers Industry Council for a grant to support decarbonization across all glass sectors. This grant will largely focus on research to advance electric melting in glass manufacturing. Current furnace technologies include hybrid technology that can provide 80/20 percent split between fossil and electric melting.

Steel

EPA has heard the call from stakeholders on the need to create procurement pathways to decarbonize all parts of the steel industry, including integrated and electric arc mills. EPA has determined that the current levels of supply chain transparency and data quality are insufficient for the agency to establish a methodology for steel greenhouse gas intensity – i.e. GWP – thresholds at this time.

Over the next year, EPA will work with stakeholders to help create greater transparency throughout the steel supply chain through various data improvement efforts. EPA has selected the University of Massachusetts for a $6.4 million EPD Assistance Grant to improve steelmaking LCI data and build tools to facilitate steel product EPD development in partnership with industry representing all steelmaking methods. In addition, EPA and GSA are committee members on the Smart EPD Steel Construction Products PCR currently being updated. These efforts will improve data reporting on ironmaking to reduce impacts for all steelmaking production types, garner more data from across the supply chain, and learn from Inflation Reduction Act implementation by GSA and FHWA.

When there is improved data quality and transparency, EPA plans to set a methodology for steel GWP thresholds that considers the emissions intensity of iron inputs as well as scrap inputs. EPA wants to find an approach that is responsive to stakeholders, motivates all suppliers to produce cleaner steel, and improves data quality for the entire industry.

EPA expects to revisit its steel threshold methodology in late 2025, including potentially a sliding scale approach or other methodology that meets our goals and is in line with statutory obligations.

Salvaged and Reused Construction Materials

At this time, there is very little salvage and reuse institutionalized in federal building and infrastructure procurement. However, a growing number of federal programs and policies recognize the potential cost savings and environmental benefits of salvaged and reused materials. For example, DOE’s Re-X Before Recycling Grant program and EPA’s Small Business Research Innovation are providing funding for innovations in materials and processes that will advance the sector. GSA and Department of Defense have also recently released standards and design strategies that consider reuse in federal construction projects.

While there are no PCRs and little life cycle assessment data for this sector, EPA’s EPD Assistance grant program is funding the development of salvage/reuse materials PCRs, an EPD generator tool, LCI data compilations and EPDs. In the coming years, EPA intends to further assist this sector by supporting LCA data collection, applying the new PCR, developing EPDs, and providing guidance on how salvage/reuse materials should be modeled in whole-project LCAs.

EPA appreciates its collaborative relationship with stakeholders in government, industry, and others, and encourages continued feedback as the C-MORE program continues to develop in 2025

Learn more about C-MORE.