Blueprint details how to make the U.S. industrial sector cleaner and more competitive

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has partnered with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to release “The National Blueprint for a Clean & Competitive Industrial Sector.” The document, which was created with input from various departments and agencies across the federal government, is designed to enable greater coordination to enhance a clean and competitive industrial sector. According to the DOE, the blueprint outlines five whole-of-government strategies within a private-sector led and government-enabled framework to help U.S. manufacturers continue to grow. The five strategies described in the document include:

1. Accelerate deployment of commercially available, cost-effective lower carbon solutions in the near term;
2. Demonstrate emerging solutions at commercial scale to de-risk deployment;
3. Increase data use to drive emissions reductions and efficiency gains that can significantly improve performance and track progress;
4. Innovate and advance research to develop transformative processes and products for deep GHG emissions reductions;
5. Integrate across the product life cycle to reduce embodied GHG emissions in industrial products and minimize waste. 

In an excerpt from the executive summary of the document, the authors write: “This Blueprint lays out a pathway to achieve a low-carbon U.S. industrial sector that is less polluting; more economically competitive; resilient to changing global market conditions; and a contributor to good jobs, revitalization of industrial communities, public health, energy and environmental justice, and national security. The industrial sector is diverse and includes manufacturing and non-manufacturing subsectors (agriculture, mining, and construction), which together contribute ~38% of total greenhouse gas emissions. This Blueprint focuses on manufacturing because it is the largest consumer of energy and source of emissions within the broader industrial sector. 

The objective of the Blueprint is to elicit rapid near-term GHG emissions reductions and expanded economic competitiveness while advancing transformative solutions for the long-term. Through collaborations between the U.S. government and owners and operators of manufacturing plants, labor unions, civil society organizations in industrial communities, environmental groups, technology providers, equipment manufacturers, engineering firms, and project developers, the vision of this Blueprint can become a reality. It also aims to promote communication with communities and Tribal nations to ensure all impacted stakeholders have a voice in the transition to co-produce and deploy solutions that generate benefits for all.”

What people are saying

In a recent quote, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy David M. Turk said, “Our manufacturing sector is expanding rapidly under President Biden’s leadership, employing millions of Americans while providing essential materials and products that people use every day. Implementing the strategies outlined in this Blueprint will improve public health, accelerate innovation to support U.S. international competitiveness, and create even more good-paying U.S. jobs.” 

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