Releases
April 18, 2024, US Circular Economy Applauds Creation of White House Climate and Trade Task Force
Washington, DC — This week, White House Senior Advisor John Podesta announced the creation of a new Climate and Trade Task Force at Columbia Global Trade Summit.
The Task Force will focus on three areas, as outlined in his remarks:
Developing a climate and trade policy toolkit: including features and approaches that will be most effective at addressing carbon leakage, carbon dumping, and embodied carbon in general.
Ensuring credible, robust, and granular data to implement smart climate and trade policies: Develop standardized and authoritative ways of measuring embodied emissions so that each country can harness comparative advantages in clean manufacturing.
Identify domestic actions to further position producers to thrive in this new race-to-the-top environment: As part of that effort, the White House recently announced $6 billion in grants from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to reduce emissions from the industrial sector.
Further, John Podesta highlighted the successes of the Buy Clean Initiative, which harnesses the purchasing power of the federal government to boost lower-carbon construction materials.
Podesta remarked, “And even as we continue our efforts to build out transmission and get clean energy projects up and running faster…we will also explore novel policy levers to help secure affordable supplies of clean electricity for energy-intensive manufacturers.”
The US Circular Economy applauds the creation of this Task Force and looks to further leverage circularity across industries to help meet these goals.
Sean Trambley, Vice President of Public Policy at the US Circular Economy Coalition, said, “The creation of the Climate and Trade Task Force is a notable and important step forward that recognizes the critical role of circularity and carbon reduction in our economy. We cannot reach our goals without leveraging manufacturing, clean energy procurement, and global trade.
“The US already enjoys a significant carbon advantage in producing goods with a lower carbon footprint than other nations and with the support of the White House, this Task Force will be able to leverage American industry to drive down global emissions. Additionally, exports of American clean technologies will boost our manufacturers here at home.”
You can read John Podesta’s full remarks announcing the Climate and Trade Task Force here.
January 29, 2024, Comments for the Record- Committee Hearing
“Avoiding, Detecting, and Capturing Methane Emissions from Landfills”
Chair Carper and Ranking Member Capito:
The US Circular Economy Coalition would like to offer comment as the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee seeks feedback on methane emissions from landfills and how to mitigate their harm to the environment and local communities.
The US Circular Economy Coalition (CEC) is a network of like-minded and future-conscious companies and institutions dedicated to improving waste and materials management policies in the U.S. We recognize that in order to reach our collective goals to reduce pollution and eliminate carbon emissions, we need stronger policies from our leaders in Washington to create stronger incentives to build a truly circular economy built on science and the waste hierarchy.
Our Mission is to advance a more circular economy as a means to help reach a global goal of net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 through practical, tangible, and measurable action considering resource and economic efficiency.
The CEC is pleased to see the Committee is examining the effects of methane emissions and how mitigation can help achieve climate goals and improve air quality. As you know, methane is more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) designating methane emissions reductions as the “strongest lever” for avoiding the most severe impacts of climate change.
Accurately measuring landfill emissions is an essential component to adapt circularity in the US economy. These emissions, often underreported, have significant impacts on local communities by contributing to air pollution and accelerating climate change.
Methane emissions are primarily emitted from the decomposition of organic and biodegradable waste placed in landfills. While some landfill systems are able to capture methane, it is often inconsistent and imperfect with frequent flaring and unaccounted emissions. In fact, landfills are not required to measure emissions directly. Instead, they model these emissions as reported in GHG inventories and are often found to be as much as twice the reported value, according to studies by the Department of the Interior.
While your Committee continues to solicit testimony and gather information, the CEC encourages you to ensure accurate methane emissions data is collected to effectively tackle this challenge. Further, in order to mitigate the release of methane emissions, proper data is essential for any effort to be successful. Toward that end, we ask that this letter be added to the official record of this hearing, as well as a recent study on the efficiency of collecting and measuring of landfill gas.
The CEC and our members appreciate your attention to this critical issue and looks forward to supporting efforts to reduce methane emissions.
Sincerely,
Sean Trambley
VP of Policy
October 2, 2023, FAR Case 2022–006 – Sustainable Procurement
To Whom It Concerns:
The Circular Economy Coalition (CEC) is writing in response to the FAR Case 2022–006 listed under 88 FR 51672. CEC is focused on educating Congress and Federal regulatory agencies on the goals and challenges faced by public and private entities that have prioritized sustainable materials management following circular economy principles.
CEC applauds the federal government on its decision to establish a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part specific to environmental matters. The U.S. federal government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world and has a unique ability to influence markets. In fiscal year 2022, the federal government committed over $690 billion to contracts. To consolidate sustainability procurement policies into a centralized section demonstrates the federal government’s understanding that sustainability is an important and necessary factor to be considered when the government purchases products and services.
In addition, CEC is encouraged that the federal government plans to apply the rule to commercial products and services, including purchases below the micro-purchase threshold. This broad approach demonstrates an understanding that the industry, including our members, is already embracing approaches to deliver sustainable products and services commercially.
Likewise, while the intent behind the proposed clause at FAR 52.223–XX, Sustainable Products and Services, is important, we encourage the Federal government to also promote circular economy approaches by its vendors. The circular economy approach keeps products and materials in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting. As a result, we can tackle climate change and other global challenges, like biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution, by decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources.
Related to sustainable acquisition, CEC has provided comments to the EPA that our members are aware the agency is reevaluating aspects of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) to improve the accuracy of GHG emissions data. CEC expressed concern that the EPA should continue to use scientific approaches to ensure reported methane emission from landfills is accurate.
CEC will also continue to monitor how the federal government moves forward with avoiding single-use plastics and improving GHG disclosure requirements in industry sectors and among federal contractors. Additionally, we look forward to seeing how the proposed FAR Part 23 will help to decarbonize markets in the future and incentivize more companies to be leaders in this area. While public conversations about plastics, building materials, waste, and recycling are receiving renewed attention in the media, public policy efforts are lagging, fail to address sustainable materials management and a circular economy as an integrated system, and are disconnected from significant gains and efforts by industry leaders. Waste generation, recycling, and other diversion rates are unchanged in the last several decades. Leadership in encouraging the adoption of circular economy practices presents an enormous opportunity to make great strides in climate policy. We need a broader policy discussion that looks beyond news stories to the real pragmatic issues that are preventing forward progress.
The CEC would like to thank the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the opportunity to comment and for the work that the FAR Council is doing to provide a cohesive message on the important role of sustainable acquisition.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Pselos
Vice President of Membership
Summary of Rule
DOD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the FAR to restructure and update FAR part 23 to focus on current environmental and sustainability matters and to implement a requirement for agencies to procure sustainable products and services to the maximum extent practicable. On December 8, 2021, the President signed Executive Order (E.O.) 14057, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability. Section 208(a) directs agencies to reduce emissions, promote environmental stewardship, support resilient supply chains, drive innovation, incentivize markets for sustainable products and services, purchase sustainable products and services in accordance with relevant statutory requirements, and, to the maximum extent practicable, purchase sustainable products and services identified or recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Executive Office of the President’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), and Climate Policy Office jointly issued Memorandum M–22–06 on the same date to provide direction for agency compliance with the E.O. Paragraph G of section I of the memorandum reiterates the requirement to purchase, to the maximum extent practicable and after meeting statutory mandates, sustainable products and services identified or recommended by EPA.
For full notice of the proposed rule https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/08/03/2023-16012/federal-acquisition-regulation-sustainable-procurement
Deadline: Comments due 10/02/23
1 White House. FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Reforms to Increase Equity and Level the Playing Field for Underserved Small Business Owners. December 02, 2021. Website: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/02/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-reforms-to-increase-equity-and-level-the-playing-field-for-underserved-small-business-owners/
2 Government Accountability Office (GAO). “A Snapshot of Government-Wide contracting for GY 2022”. August 15, 2023. Website: https://www.gao.gov/blog/snapshot-government-wide-contracting-fy-2022#:~:text=In%20Fiscal%20Year%202022%2C%20the,2021%20after%20adjusting%20for%20inflation
