Asphalt May Be On It’s Way Out Finally As Biden admin Starts New Building Materials Task Force

Washington, D.C. – Asphalt and Concrete have some explaining to do as requests for alternatives are sought by the GSA. The General Services Administration (GSA) of the United States has officially announced actions to reduce emissions from building materials as part of a broader government-wide effort to strengthen American leadership in the field of clean manufacturing.

To gather current marketplace insights from industry, including small businesses, the GSA issued two requests for information (RFIs) in order to determine the national availability of concrete and asphalt materials that have environmental product declarations, low embodied carbon, or superior environmental attributes, among other things.

The GSA will also participate in the first-ever Buy Clean Task Force, which was established by the White House Council on Environmental Quality to explore ways to harness the federal government’s massive purchasing power to support low-carbon materials. The Buy Clean Task Force will look for ways to harness the federal government’s massive purchasing power to support low-carbon materials.

Materials with low embodied carbon are needed also needed to lower climate impact because they are used in mining, manufacturing, and transportation.

According to the GSA, responses to its Request for Information (RFI) will be used to shape the implementation of new national low-carbon concrete and sustainable asphalt standards for land port of entry projects, including pavement upgrades, that are funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

In order to combat climate change they state that the industrial sector must play a crucial role. Concrete, steel, and aluminum alone account for 23% of total global emissions, with the remainder coming from other sources.

GSA has actively engaged stakeholders and experts in industry and government over the course of the last year to develop best practices for reducing the carbon footprint of buildings and related materials.
The recommendations of the General Services Administration’s Green Building Advisory Committee were validated and expanded by an Embodied Carbon Roundtable held by the agency last summer, and the results of that input are now being implemented.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is responsible for centralized procurement for the federal government. It manages a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet and oversees approximately $75 billion in annual contracts.