Grace McRae, grace.mcrae@sierraclub.org
TOLEDO, OH -- Today, the Biden administration announced a significant step forward in the effort to lower industrial carbon emissions and pollution. At the Cleveland-Cliffs Direct Reduction steel plant in Toledo, Ohio, the Biden Administration announced that the Buy Clean Task Force, a federal cross-agency initiative, will support the domestic production of steel, plate glass, asphalt, and concrete made through processes that emit lower amounts of greenhouse gasses while creating jobs.
These efforts, if combined with efforts to reduce toxic pollution and the broader environmental and health impacts of industrial production, could greatly improve the health and safety of communities located along the fence lines of industrial facilities. These communities, which are largely low-income communities and communities of color, have experienced disproportionate harm from toxic emissions for decades. The newly announced commitments from the Administration also promise to strengthen the economy by creating new manufacturing jobs, tackling a significant source of climate pollution.
Industry in the United States emits more than 1.5 gigatons of climate pollution every year, making it a leading source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to emitting highly toxic air pollution that causes diseases like cancer and respiratory illnesses.
In response, Sierra Club Living Economy Program Acting Director Hebah Kassem released the following statement:
“We are heartened to see President Biden making good on his climate commitments by tackling the massive problem of industrial pollution. Implementing clean procurement standards for manufacturing goods in an equitable and rigorous manner could make significant strides in addressing the negative health effects that fenceline communities have long suffered.
“Directing federal agencies to invest in materials such as clean steel and clean concrete for infrastructure projects leverages billions of dollars in government contracts to drive demand for clean manufacturing. Such large-scale investment in industrial transformation is absolutely vital in ensuring public health, supporting workers, and advancing our climate goals.
“These efforts by the Buy Clean task force — in concert with the Inflation Reduction Act’s investments in clean manufacturing — could significantly reduce pollution throughout the country’s industrial supply chains while creating high-quality jobs for working families.
“We look forward to the Task Force continuing to expand its scope and effort to include other widely used industrial materials — and other industrial pollutants — that have an outsized impact on communities and the environment.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.