We are pleased to share resources from Building Washington’s Clean Materials Manufacturing Economy, which took place virtually on June 23 and in person on June 28 in the Seattle offices of K&L Gates, a co-sponsor of the event. The Summit gathered policymakers, Washington state agency staff, labor leaders, manufacturers, and environmental groups who are focused on building a shared vision for making the Evergreen State a global leader in clean materials manufacturing.
The pace and success of a global clean energy transition to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 depends on a robust supply of basic materials for products—from a renewable energy supply chain to zero-emission vehicles to low-carbon construction—all while lowering the carbon intensity of those materials.
Washington is well-positioned to meet the rapidly growing demand for clean materials and create a new generation of high-road manufacturing jobs. The state is already home to world-class manufacturing facilities for materials such as steel rebar and aluminum aerospace plate. In addition to its existing manufacturing base, Washington also has a relatively clean electric grid, a highly skilled workforce, and strong climate policies.
However, making Washington a leader in clean materials manufacturing will require a holistic and coordinated approach that seeks to decarbonize and strengthen the state’s manufacturing base simultaneously. At the two-day event, Washington stakeholders joined national policy experts to discuss opportunities for collaboration that could create such a targeted approach consistent with a net-zero target and commitment to a fair transition.
During the first virtual day, Michael Furze, Assistant Director for the Energy Division of the Washington State Department of Commerce, welcomed participants by framing the state’s focus on clean manufacturing and equity.
Rebecca Dell, Industry Program Director at ClimateWorks Foundation, followed with the keynote presentation in which she explained the impact of materials manufacturing on the climate, economy, and society. She then described why Washington’s clean energy resources, skilled workforce, strong institutions, and diverse manufacturing economy make it the perfect place to invest in clean materials manufacturing.
The afternoon session centered on two panels about transforming and revitalizing materials manufacturing. In the first panel, we heard from national experts on decarbonization pathways for materials manufacturing and strategies to ensure that preserving and strengthening Washington’s materials manufacturing simultaneously promotes environmental justice. The panelists included:
The second panel discussed the need to protect and promote competitiveness to decarbonize the industrial sector as materials manufacturers operate in global commodity markets, competing against others that may not be required to meet the same standards. The second set of panelists was composed of:
Recordings and slides from all virtual sessions are available on our website.
Five days after the virtual session, participants met in the K&L Gates Seattle offices and heard from Washington state agency leads from the departments of Commerce and Ecology. The following agency staff discussed current policies and programs designed to help the state achieve its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 while doubling its manufacturing base over the next decade:
We also heard from some of Washington’s leading materials manufacturers on how they are approaching the challenges and opportunities of the low-carbon transition. Don Davies, President at Magnusson Klemencic Associates, moderated a conversation with Brent Downey, Manager of Environmental Affairs at Kaiser Aluminum Trentwood and Pat Jablonski, Environmental Manager at Nucor Steel Seattle, Inc.
Summit attendees ended the day with a series of facilitated small group discussions to explore the top opportunities and needs related to clean manufacturing in Washington. Among other topics, participants spoke about:
– Developing a clearly articulated industrial/manufacturing policy
– Promoting a culture of innovation to create a market for clean manufacturing of materials
– Strategically expanding Washington’s manufacturing workforce and investing in education and training pathways while also protecting existing jobs
– Building out a reliable clean electricity grid to meet demand from increased electrification of industry
– Data needs related to clean materials manufacturing; consistency and uniformity in reporting; and compliance flexibility in how to report – Improving the siting process for clean manufacturing facilities
– Buy Clean/Buy Fair legislation in Washington
– The role of hydrogen in decarbonizing energy-intensive materials manufacturing in Washington
All available materials and recordings can be found here on our website, along with a distillation of the facilitated discussions. For more context on decarbonizing Washington’s manufacturing sectors, please visit our Clean Materials Manufacturing project.
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