Support for EPA’s Embodied Carbon Grant Program

Reducing the embodied carbon associated with construction materials is an important strategy for lowering greenhouse gas emissions across the building and infrastructure sectors. Under Section 60112 of the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress appropriated funding to support grants and technical assistance for activities related to measuring, reporting, and reducing the embodied carbon impacts of construction materials and products, including steel, concrete, asphalt, and glass. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention required coordinated technical, analytical, and administrative support to design and manage this complex grant program, which was part of the agency’s multi-pronged Construction Material Opportunities to Reduce Emissions (C-MORE) program. 

ERG provided grant program design and administrative support for EPA’s C-MORE program. We helped identify experts to participate on grant review teams and conducted a synergy analysis across proposed grant projects to identify thematic linkages and areas of alignment. We also supported grant administration activities, including compliance reviews of work plans, budgets, and terms and conditions documents to support EPA’s grant management system. To prepare for future grantee reporting, ERG developed a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) template, delivered training and office hours to support document development, and prepared standardized reporting templates and data input forms. In addition, we managed program inbox inquiries, developed communications themes and materials to support internal briefings, and proposed a system structure to support long‑term grant and program management.