Pioneer Millworks, a manufacturer of wood flooring, paneling, and siding has been selected by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a grant titled “IRA NOFO for Reducing Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Construction Materials and Products.” This grant will provide funding for Pioneer Millworks to create Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its products. EPDs are transparency documentation that allows consumers to see the full impact a product has on the environment from sourcing of material to shipping of product to what happens to the product when it is no longer needed (or “end of life”).
“This grant gives us the ability to create EPDs, so that our clients can view the full environmental impact of Pioneer Millworks wood products,” says Michele Caryl, acquisitions and environmental certifications manager for Pioneer Millworks. “Being able to analyze and document the full life cycle of our products with full documentation. This will show clients the benefits of choosing an environmentally supportive material and manufactured for their spaces.”
Pioneer Millworks says they were selected by the EPA over thousands of applicants, and the Oregon-based company is among 38 grantees who will receive part of the approximately $160 million. This money is part of the Inflation Reduction Act programs that were part of the $350 million for grants, technical assistance and tools, including carbon labeling, to help manufacturers, institutional buyers, real estate developers, builders and others measure, report and substantially lower the levels of embodied carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions associated with all relevant stages of production, use, and disposal of construction materials.
Pioneer Millworks will use the grant monies over the next five years, along with its own investments, to hire staff, develop a program, and set measures for its products’ life-cycle analysis. They say they will use this information to improve the planet and human impacts of its products as well as report the impacts to the public through third-party certified EPDs.
“We are honored to be selected in for this investment the federal government is making in reducing climate impacts through the built environment,” says Jonathan Orpin, CEO and founder of Pioneer Millworks. “We know that we need more housing in the United States, and that our houses/buildings when built with intentional materials and methods can help to reduce the impacts on our climate. Buildings can help fight climate change, be a place of respite and comfort, and not strain our energy systems and wallets. We just need to change what materials we use to build with — using wood, which is what we do here — is one of those changes a person can make. We’re happy to be able to use this grant money to show folks the full impact Pioneer Millworks products have on people and planet.”