Buy Clean, Buy Fair Bill Signed into Law in Washington State

On March 28, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed the landmark “Buy Clean, Buy Fair” (BCBF) legislation, which will address #embodiedcarbon by requiring reporting on #environmental and workforce impacts associated with the production of #buildingmaterials used in state building #construction projects. The key provisions in this bill include reporting on three categories of building materials (concrete, steel, and wood) used in covered projects, development of a database to track data, manage compliance, and promote transparency, and convening a technical work group to provide recommendations on future policy and program development.

Governor Jay Inslee signs Buy Clean, Buy Fair

HB 1282, sponsored by Rep. Davina Duerr, is known as the Buy Clean Buy Fair Act. It will reduce embodied carbon in the construction of state-owned public buildings. The bill requires new reporting and tracking of emissions associated with the manufacture of building materials, and establishes a work group with environmental, government, industry, and labor partners that will support the transition to low-carbon construction.

The BCBF bill began its journey as a pilot study by the Carbon Leadership Forum commissioned by the Washington State Legislature in 2021. The goal of this project was to evaluate the feasibility of BCBF data reporting requirements and identify areas for improvement in potential future BCBF programs. The CLF published a final report in the autumn of 2022, and BCBF was introduced into the 2023 and 2024 legislative sections before final passage by both houses in 2024.

Many thanks to the co-sponsors of the bill: David Hackney, Liz Berry, Alex Ramel, Beth Doglio, Julia Reed, Gerry Pollet!