Clean energy group calls on governments to adopt buy-clean procurement strategies
A consortium of construction-material suppliers is calling on the federal government to deepen its commitment to so-called “buy clean” procurement policies.
It its recent Money Talks report, the Clean Energy Canada and Global Efficiency Intelligence models the potential impact of buy clean policies in Canada. The report also offers recommendations for how such green procurement initiatives could cut even more emissions while supporting Canadian industry.
The report argues that Canada’s public sector makes up around a fifth of all infrastructure spending in the country, while emissions from building publicly funded infrastructure is equal to the pollution from 1.7 million gas cars (8 million tonnes of CO2e).
By procuring construction products with a lower carbon footprint – in other words, by enacting buy clean policies – governments can effectively support a sizeable market for clean building products.
The alliance says the framework for such an approach is already in place.
Canada already produces some of the world’s cleanest cement, aluminum and steel due in part, to its comparatively low-carbon electricity grid. But without a strong domestic market for these products, however, the alliance says Canada could lose its competitive advantage as America’s new Inflation Reduction Act channels billions of dollars into growing the market for U.S.-made, low-carbon building materials—threatening Canada’s clean industrial head start.
“Canadian industry is already ahead when it comes to clean construction materials thanks to a comparatively clean electricity grid and a host of world-leading cleantech companies,” said —Oliver Sheldrick, clean economy program manager at Clean Energy Canada. “By getting buy clean right, we can slash carbon pollution from our buildings and infrastructure while supporting Canadian industries and the thousands of jobs that go with them.”
Although the federal government is developing a buy clean strategy for federal construction projects, this alone accounts for just 4% of all public spending and less than 1% of all infrastructure spending in Canada.
The real heft of Canada’s public infrastructure spending rests with provinces, municipalities and Crown corporations. Only by adopting a truly national approach will buy clean significantly bolster Canada’s clean industrial market in the face of American competition.
The report recommends several steps the federal government should take to build an effective buy clean strategy.
It is calling for buy clean requirements to be mandated across the whole federal government, including for Crown corporations and federal investments in provincial and municipal infrastructure.
It also wants to see a dedicated team created in the federal government to provide support to all levels of government—from provinces to municipalities—and the private sector to get on board with buy clean.
Finally, it is calling for reforms to building standards to enable low-carbon materials while also investing in data, tools, and programs to test and scale even cleaner construction solutions.
By introducing an ambitious and truly national buy clean policy that spans all levels of government, the alliance says Canada could avoid up to 4 million tonnes of emissions by 2030, and halve its emissions from construction materials.
“Buy clean policies that encourage the purchase of lower carbon construction materials, which are competitively produced by domestic industries, will keep good jobs for workers in communities across Canada,” said Jamie Kirkpatrick, senior program manager at Blue Green Canada. “Buying clean will help maintain Canadian industrial jobs, significantly cut the embodied carbon of our buildings, bridges and infrastructure, and build a future we can all be proud of.”
About 13% of global emissions are embodied in the materials used to construct buildings and other infrastructure. The two biggest polluters are cement and steel production, which together are responsible for around 14% of global emissions. Another 2% of global emissions come from aluminum production.
Demand for these materials is only projected to grow, with up to 45% more cement, 30% more steel, and 80% more aluminum expected to be required by 2050.