AMHERST — More than 37% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions are produced by the billions of tons of concrete, asphalt, steel, glass and other construction materials used in buildings and other infrastructure projects, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates.

For steel manufacturers to better understand their carbon footprint and their environmental impacts, researchers at the University of Massachusetts are using a $6.37 million, five-year federal grant to create a generator tool that will make greenhouse gas data more transparent, trustworthy and accessible to the industry.

Kara Peterman, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UMass, is the lead researcher, working with three graduate students, to develop the tool that could transform the industry.

“We’re trying to recalibrate the industry,” Peterman said, explaining that five years of funding could propel the industry 50 years into the future.

Currently, the environmental impact of construction materials is described in a document called an environmental product declaration, or EPDs. These documents describe the whole life cycle of the product, including energy requirements, greenhouse gas emissions and the ultimate carbon footprint.

At its core, the UMass work will help steel manufacturers both create EPDs in their own work and access the data contained in EPDs from other companies. That, in turn, should lead to more sustainable purchasing decisions by allowing buyers to compare products, Peterman said.

EPDs are currently made by individual manufacturers, are expensive to make and generally rely on self-reporting of data supporting the EPD. The EPD generator tool created at UMass, in contrast, will provide access, transparency and standardization to the EPD process, allowing manufacturers of any size and of any steel product to generate such a document. Companies will be able to use the EPD generator tool for free.

“The ultimate goal is more and better EPDs,” Peterman said. “There are thousands of steel makers in the United States and we want to expand access to data and software so that every single one of them can have an EPD.”

She said the UMass team’s focus will be on data collection, developing data standards, and researching the life cycle environmental impact of raw materials and energy inputs to the steelmaking process.

“We aim to expand and improve the quality of primary and secondary data available for use in EPDs. We will also be supporting development of educational resources for students, steelmakers and structural engineers, with the goal of retraining the workforce in sustainable steel construction practices.”

UMass is one of four recipients in New England getting more than $18 million in grants through the Biden administration using money from the Inflation Reduction Act, with a goal of both reporting and reducing climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials.

While the United States already leads the world in the production of clean construction materials, the expectation is that this will help further reduce climate pollution by helping businesses measure the carbon emissions associated with extracting, transporting and manufacturing their products. It also supports President Biden’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative, creating demand for clean construction materials that are used in federal buildings, highways and infrastructure projects.

According to the EPA, the investments in data and tools will make high-quality EPDs available for 14 material categories, including both new and salvaged or reused materials. These efforts will help standardize and expand the market for construction products with lower greenhouse gas emissions. They will make it easier for federal, state and local governments and other institutional buyers to ensure the construction projects they fund use more climate-friendly products and materials.

EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said in a statement that cleaner construction materials like concrete and steel are increasingly essential for the nation’s prosperity.

“These historic investments will expand market access for a new generation of more climate-friendly construction materials, and further grow American jobs that are paving the way to the clean energy economy,” McCabe said.

Regional Administrator David W. Cash said in a statement that supporting the development and use of cleaner construction materials improves quality of life and combats climate change. “These projects are paving the way for a more sustainable future, ensuring that our children and grandchildren can thrive in a cleaner and healthier New England,” Cash said.

UMass is partnering with the American Iron and Steel Institute and the American Institute of Steel Construction in creating the EPD generator tool that can be used by a broader range of manufacturers and fabricators, particularly small businesses, and creating a public-facing EPD repository for stakeholders to access high-quality data.

“The ultimate goal is more and better EPDs,” Peterman said. “There are thousands of steel makers in the United States and we want to expand access to data and software so that every single one of them can have an EPD.”

At the student level, she sees a reimagining of the current steel curriculum to focus on carbon emissions instead of pure cost or time savings.

Peterman said UMass will also provide educational resources to students and design, construction and steel industry professionals. This project seeks to identify deconstruction processes for existing structures, required tests for recovered materials, and required modifications and fabrication data to increase the use of salvaged steel products.

“We’re demonstrating that we have the access to reach every corner of the industry,” Peterman said. “We have a broad base of support and that will be the key to our success.”

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.