The state Department of Transportation is launching a pilot program to study the carbon emissions of construction materials with $32 million in newly announced federal funds.
Gov. Tony Evers yesterday announced the grant from a U.S. Department of Transportation program, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. The state DOT will use the funds to explore “evidence-based strategies” for assessing environmental impacts of construction materials, according to the release.
The findings of this program will lead to broader adoption of low-carbon transportation materials being used in Wisconsin, the guv’s office says. WisDOT will set sustainability benchmarks for state project contracts, with a goal of making infrastructure more environmentally sustainable.
WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman, who started in the role in September, says the grant will help the state achieve that goal “without sacrificing performance.”
The agency will also look into ways to verify if pilot projects have lower greenhouse gas emissions, and use the data to work toward a “full-scale” low-carbon transportation materials program in the state.
Evers says the funding will help the state “leave our kids with a brighter, healthier world” while also enabling the construction of modern infrastructure needed to be economically competitive.
“The climate crisis is happening right before our eyes, and working to limit our greenhouse gas emissions is a huge part of that fight,” he said in a statement.
Yesterday’s announcement references findings from the United Nations showing the global buildings and construction sector makes up about 37% of emissions worldwide.
It notes operational emissions from things like heating, cooling and lighting are being driven downward by sustainability efforts in the coming years. But at the same time, “embodied” carbon emissions stemming from the production and use of materials such as cement and steel have remained more stable, contributing substantially to climate impacts.
See the release and get more details on the Federal Highway Administration’s Low-Carbon Transportation Materials Grants Program.
