Month: May 2023

Source: United States General Services Administration

May 22, 2023

WASHINGTON—Marking a major milestone for the Biden-Harris Administration’s industrial decarbonization goals, this week the U.S. General Services Administration announced a pilot of new requirements for the procurement of substantially lower embodied carbon construction materials in GSA projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The requirements were developed with market insights gathered from domestic manufacturers, local suppliers, small businesses, and environmental and labor groups. Tuesday’s announcement advances President Biden’s federal sustainability goals and the Administration’s efforts to build the clean energy economy by generating demand for cleaner materials and creating good manufacturing jobs.

Leaders from across the country praised the announcement. Here’s what they’re saying:

Roxanne Brown, Vice President at Large, United Steelworkers: “The USW appreciates the opportunity to work with the administration as it sets Buy Clean policies. USW members proudly manufacture a wide range of materials that are necessary for revitalizing our nation’s infrastructure, and today’s announcement from GSA is a step toward ensuring their jobs remain competitive.” [Tweet, 5/17/23]

Laura O’Neill Kaumo, President/CEO, American Concrete Pavement Association: “Yesterday afternoon, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a pilot program of new requirements for substantially lower embodied carbon construction materials projects funded by $2.15 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA continues to be a driving force in incentivizing the lowering of carbon in our everyday lives. We applaud the White House for its commitment to continuing to address climate change and we look forward to meeting with GSA as we do a deeper dive into the pilot program and have a better understanding of how this will impact paving projects around our nation. #climatechange #concretepaving #IRA” [Statement, 5/17/23]

Asphalt Institute: “The Asphalt Institute commends the United States General Services Administration (GSA) for moving forward with a limited pilot program. This is a crucial step to understanding different pragmatic scopes applicable when procuring low-carbon construction materials. It is refreshing to see inter-agency collaborations between the GSA and FHWA, with the Federal Highway Administration leading the way to establish appropriate industry averages by working with relevant construction material industries. We hope this pilot program paves the way for collaborations between construction material producers, domain engineers, and the federal ‘Buy Clean’ procurement decision makers and is a first step toward holistic, sustainable decision-making. #sustainable #construction” [Statement, 5/18/23]

Scott Paul, President, Alliance for American Manufacturing: “A Buy Clean policy built upon existing Buy America requirements has the potential to boost American manufacturers and workers who are doing the hard work to build a cleaner industrial sector. The details are critical to ensuring that our nation addresses its climate goals while simultaneously strengthening the industrial base… By adopting a bifurcated approach to integrated and electric arc furnace steel production, GSA got the first of many key details correct. GSA’s announcement ensures that no American steelworkers are aimlessly excluded from supplying government procurement markets. At the same time, it creates powerful incentives to accelerate the capital investments necessary for clean energy and climate innovation throughout the American steel sector.” [Statement, 5/16/23]

Jason Walsh, Executive Director, Blue Green Alliance: “We applaud the GSA for their thoughtful leadership and for incorporating stakeholder feedback into this new, updated Buy Clean framework. Getting these policies right today will help to ensure a livable climate, cleaner air, and more manufacturing jobs for U.S. workers tomorrow. With this release, GSA and the Biden administration are taking decisive steps to help ensure that federal procurement—like all federal activities—serves to reduce GHG emissions, improve health and environmental outcomes in communities harmed by environmental injustice, and create good jobs for workers across the United States.” [Statement, 5/16/23]

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Senior Director for Domestic Policy, Third Way: “These standards are a huge step forward for the Biden-Harris Buy Clean Initiative. This unlocks a $2 billion budget that GSA can use to procure low-carbon materials, jumpstart the market for cleaner construction products, and give American manufacturers a leg up on the competition. You have to hand it to the Administration for its comprehensive strategy to make producers in the US cleaner and more competitive. We’ve got the Department of Energy investing in innovation and the IRS issuing tax credits to keep our industries and workers at the cutting edge of low-carbon manufacturing. Now GSA is boosting demand for those products and reducing the risk for private investors to follow suit.” [Tweet, 5/17/23]

Neal Elliott, Director Emeritus, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy: “ACEEE commends the GSA for issuing a steel specification that balances the need for immediate reductions in embodied carbon in steel purchases with the need to incentivize continued domestic investments in primary steel decarbonization.” [Statement, 5/8/23]

Ian Wells, Federal Industrial Policy Lead, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): “By implementing these standards, GSA will leverage public spending to help spur a rebirth of American industrial manufacturing in a much smarter and cleaner context than before. As these domestic industries get cleaner, however, low-carbon procurement standards must adapt to continue to incentivize industrial manufacturers to achieve the level of emissions reduction we need to meet climate targets.” [Statement 5/16/23]

Yong Kwon, Senior Policy Advisor, Sierra Club: “The announcement marks an important step in making sure that public and private investments currently being made to dramatically reduce the pollution intensity of industrial facilities will have a space to prove their competitiveness. It also showcases the urgency of ongoing efforts to collect data and the critical work that remains to be done to set standards that would move all facilities towards eliminating fossil fuel usage in their manufacturing process.” [Statement, 5/16/23]

Natasha Vidangos, Associate Vice President, Innovation and Technology Policy, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF): “GSA’s pilot program is a critical first step to develop markets for clean construction materials that will lower pollution and create U.S. jobs. Buy Clean puts federal purchasing power to work by ramping up clean solutions in this crucial, yet high emitting, part of our economy. More work lies ahead to ensure that we maximize the potential of the Buy Clean program to develop strong and competitive markets for cleaner materials, while ensuring fair outcomes for workers and communities.” [Statement, 5/16/23]

Rebecca Dell, Senior Director, Industry, ClimateWorks Foundation: “Making building materials (cement, steel, &c) emits more climate pollution than all vehicles on all roads.Today @USGSA took a big step forward, announcing it will use low-GHG materials in 11 public construction projects with funds from IRA. Great to see!” [Tweet, 5/16/23]

Mike Williams, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress: “If we are going to tackle the climate crisis, we need to tackle emissions from steel, cement, and other energy intensive materials in a way that builds up and supports American industry. The GSA’s low carbon materials pilot program will help demonstrate how to do this through procurement initiatives like Buy Clean. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, the GSA has the opportunity and imperative to change how it sources products for the projects it builds. We look forward to examining the impact of this pilot project to help hone future climate and procurement policy.” [Tweet, 5/16/23]

Anish Tilak, Manager Carbon Free Buildings, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI): “We are excited to see GSA’s low embodied carbon construction pilot take flight, and look forward to further public-private collaboration to catalyze the market for low-carbon concrete, asphalt, glass, and steel.” [Tweet, 5/18/23]

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.

Source: United States General Services Administration

May 18, 2023

The GSA Construction Awards will recognize exemplary achievements demonstrating construction excellence on GSA projects of all sizes

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced the new biennial GSA Construction Awards program, which is seeking submissions this summer.

The program was created to honor outstanding achievements in construction, with a focus on quality and craftsmanship, collaboration and team dynamics, sustainability, innovation, and technology. The first Construction Awards ceremony will take place in 2024. (The longstanding Design Awards ceremony, which took place this year, will continue to occur in odd years.)

From small to large projects, from limited scope repairs and alterations to new construction projects, GSA will consider projects that resulted in highly successful outcomes while delivering best value and demonstrating excellent practice of the following core values: safety, construction quality and craftsmanship, collaboration and team dynamics, sustainability, innovation, and technology.

“Innovation and ingenuity are crucial to executing federal construction projects, and GSA understands how important our partners are to achieving successful outcomes,” said PBS Commissioner Nina Albert. “We are very fortunate to work with and alongside incredible professionals in all construction related fields and we’re thrilled to be recognizing them as they help us deliver for the American people.”

Projects can be submitted for three main categories: Capital Projects, Small Projects, and Alternative Financing Projects. Call for submissions will begin July 2023. Details will be shared on the GSA Construction Awards webpage.

The team members who best exemplify construction excellence in the delivery of GSA projects will be publicly celebrated at the biennial GSA Construction Awards Ceremony.

Visit the GSA Construction Awards webpage to learn more about eligibility, judging, and submission instructions.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.

Source: United States General Services Administration

May 17, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment (EVSA) tool is now available to federal agencies, the U.S. General Services Administration and telematics company Geotab announced today.

The EVSA tool aims to save fleet managers time and resources by pinpointing which federal fleet vehicles can be replaced by an equivalent electric vehicle, based on function and range requirements. The tool is part of the telematics blanket purchase agreement GSA has with Geotab.

The EVSA tool supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to tackle climate change and the President’s Federal Sustainability Plan to move the federal fleet to zero-emission vehicles, which includes acquiring only light-duty zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) by 2027 and medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs by 2035.

The tool aims to help fleet managers with decision-making processes as they move to ZEVs. The EVSA tool analyzes an agency’s fleet telematics data based on individual vehicle driving patterns. Using real-world ZEVs from GSA, the tool shows agencies realistic options for electrifying their fleets based on range and cost-of-ownership analysis. The tool gets these data via predictive analytics from the telematics provider.

“Working with our current telematics provider, Geotab, we are excited to build a more sustainable future for the federal fleet across the country,” said GSA Travel, Transportation, and Logistics Assistant Commissioner Crystal Philcox. “We look forward to working with our federal partners to use this tool to move to zero-emission vehicles that meet mission needs.”

“We recognize that quality data used to make correct decisions is critical to accelerating the transition towards a more sustainable, low carbon future, and we are proud to partner with the GSA to bring our EVSA solution to federal fleets,” said Neil Cawse, chief executive officer of Geotab. “This tool offers fleet managers suitable electric alternatives based on real fleet data, saving agencies time and resources as they make the transition towards an electric future.”

GSA is the agency responsible for establishing governmentwide vehicle contracts and leasing half of the non-postal federal fleet, while the other half is owned and ordered from GSA. GSA works to help other agencies deploy and adopt climate-ready vehicles. GSA is leading the transition toward a zero-emission federal footprint by using its power of federal procurement to make it work.

If your federal agency wants to start an assessment, contact us at fleetsolutions@gsa.gov. Find other resources about procuring ZEVs, acquiring charging stations, and installing that equipment from GSA at gsa.gov/electrifythefleet.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us @USGSA.

Source: United States General Services Administration

May 16, 2023

Major milestone for industrial decarbonization advances eleven projects through materials with substantially lower levels of embodied carbon emissions

WASHINGTON — Marking a major milestone for the Biden-Harris Administration’s industrial decarbonization goals, the U.S. General Services Administration today announced a pilot of new requirements [PDF – 88 KB] for the procurement of substantially lower embodied carbon construction materials in GSA projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. The requirements [PDF – 145 KB] were developed with market insights gathered from domestic manufacturers, local suppliers, small businesses, and environmental and labor groups. They advance President Biden’s federal sustainability goals and efforts to strengthen American leadership in clean manufacturing and jobs.

The Inflation Reduction Act provides $3.375 billion for GSA to invest in federal buildings to help reduce carbon emissions and catalyze innovation. This Act includes $2.15 billion to procure low embodied carbon materials for construction and renovation projects. In support of the Biden-Harris Administration Federal Buy Clean Initiative, these investments are helping GSA leverage its purchasing power to spur markets for products that have substantially lower levels of embodied greenhouse gas emissions associated with their raw materials, transportation, and manufacturing — all of which occurs before GSA purchases the products. This pilot will help achieve President Biden’s federal sustainability goals, including a net zero emissions federal building portfolio by 2045, and net zero emissions procurement by 2050, while supporting good American manufacturing jobs.

“Today’s announcement marks a major step forward in our efforts to use the federal government’s buying power to catalyze innovation and strengthen American leadership in clean manufacturing and jobs,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. “We look forward to acting on what we learn from this pilot to accelerate progress toward the government’s urgent climate goals, and achieve the sustainability triple-win of good jobs, value for taxpayers and a healthier planet for future generations.”

The six-month pilot will go into effect immediately, applying the GSA interim IRA Low Embodied Carbon Material Requirements [PDF – 145 KB] into procurement for eleven GSA construction and modernization projects [PDF – 88 KB]. The pilot will generate insights into regional market availability of qualifying products and materials, and inform adjustments that may be needed for GSA’s final set of material requirements for its IRA-funded projects.

“In the face of the climate crisis, our progress will be measured by the pace with which we put steel in the ground and literally build the clean energy economy,” said National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “Today, we are kicking off construction projects around the country that will put people to work on that vision, and create the demand for more climate solutions, like low-carbon steel, concrete and other materials, manufactured here and stamped Made in America.”

The GSA interim requirements are based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Interim Determination [PDF]. They set global warming potential limits for the most carbon-intensive materials prioritized by the federal interagency Buy Clean Task Force: asphalt, concrete, glass, and steel. These limits reflect feedback from three requests for information on low embodied carbon construction materials, two industry days organized by GSA in February, and close interagency collaboration through the Buy Clean Task Force. GSA also developed FAQs [PDF – 291 KB] to address questions and comments.

The pilot signals to manufacturers that GSA requires Environmental Product Declarations for materials procured using IRA funding. EPDs are a key tool for gaining visibility into a product’s environmental impacts through its entire lifetime in a standard, third party-verified format, and they are commonly used in Buy Clean programs. Some product categories, such as hollow structural sections and structural steel plate produced in integrated steel mills, have not yet published EPDs, so the GSA pilot provides additional time for manufacturers to gather and publish data. Once adequate data is available in the market, GSA plans to establish GWP limits for individual manufacturing processes (i.e. integrated mills and electric arc furnaces) to promote innovation throughout the industry and lower emissions from all processes. The pilot also implements EPA’s Interim Determination, which establishes the definition of “substantially lower” greenhouse gas emissions based on EPDs.

“This new Buy Clean pilot will inform our whole-of-government approach to accelerating the innovation and adoption of more environmentally-preferable construction materials needed to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “By addressing pollution from energy-intensive manufacturing and learning from GSA’s construction projects, we can bolster Federal Buy Clean efforts and make significant gains towards our climate goals and a stronger economy.”

The GSA pilot requirements are a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive approach to industrial decarbonization. While GSA and the U.S. Department of Transportation engage the market for these products to encourage increased EPD harmonization and availability, EPA is working to establish new grant, technical assistance and carbon labeling programs for construction materials. These actions are also aligned with the U.S. Department of Energy’s $6 billion Industrial Demonstrations Program, which will provide funding to accelerate emissions reductions in energy-intensive industries and help scale production of promising new technologies.

“GSA has been an industry leader in high-performance green buildings for more than 20 years. We will continue to work with industry as we pilot lower embodied carbon materials, which represent almost a third of the built environment’s total emissions,” said GSA Public Buildings Service Commissioner Nina Albert. “GSA also continues to strive for net zero carbon from operations across its portfolio of approximately 1,650 federally-owned buildings located across the United States.”

GSA will share these new requirements with other federal agencies to inform governmentwide construction procurement as well as signatories of the Federal-State Buy Clean Partnership. GSA continues to solicit questions and comments on these requirements at embodiedcarbon@gsa.gov.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. Our mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. Follow us at @USGSA.