GSA to invest $2B for cleaner construction, low carbon materials

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has released its plan to invest $2 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act to lower embodied carbon in some common materials.

Embodied carbon is the total carbon emissions created by a material’s production from when it started as a raw material in the ground to when it became a key component in an end-use product.

As part of the agency’s commitment, it announced 150 projects across 39 states, the District of Columbia and the Puerto Rico receiving funding from the Inflation Reduction Act investment. The funding will grow the domestic market for low-embodied carbon (LEC) asphalt, steel, concrete and glass. 

By increasing demand for LEC materials, GSA says these investments will strengthen the U.S. industrial base, catalyze innovation and stimulate job growth in industries that produce next-generation materials.

Administrator Robin Carnahan announced the investments alongside White House Senior Advisor John Podesta during a visit to Topeka, Kansas, as part of the Investing in Rural America Event Series.

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GSA plans to invest about $25 million in LEC construction materials to help the Frank Carlson Federal Building and Courthouse reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. This includes replacing the windows and doors with LEC glass which will reduce the building’s energy use and extend the building’s useful life and upgrading the concrete pavement sidewalks and parking area with LEC.

The project is slated to be designed this fiscal year, with construction in 2025.

Other projects receiving funding include façade and window replacements, structural repairs, repaving projects and seismic upgrades in buildings ranging from the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in New York City to the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in Seattle, to land ports of entry across the northern and southern borders. Through the life of the projects, these investments are estimated to reduce up to 41,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and support over 6,000 jobs annually, GSA says.

“By incorporating clean construction materials in more than 150 projects across the country, we're helping create good-paying jobs in the clean manufacturing industries of the future and sending a clear signal that the homegrown market for these sustainable products is here to stay,” Carnahan says.

To view the full list of projects, click here.