Saint-Gobain, through its building materials subsidiary CertainTeed Siding, Monday announced it has achieved a 96% reduction (Scopes 1 & 2 only) in emissions from the manufacturing of polymer shakes, vinyl trim, millwork and vinyl siding at its Maryland manufacturing facility in Williamsport and two others in Kansas and Georgia.
With fully electrified processes and 100% of the electricity used backed by renewable energy credits (RECs), Saint-Gobain has taken a significant step in its mission to provide low carbon siding products to the US market and reduce its environmental footprint.
This ambitious project comes as the company continues to successfully execute its global Grow and Impact strategy which commits to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and includes aggressive sustainability goals for reduction of energy and water use, landfill contributions, and increased use of recycled raw material. The current energy project by the Siding business complements the company’s three existing Power Purchase Agreements that will provide enough renewable electricity to cover over 70% of the electricity demand at all of Saint-Gobain’s industrial sites in North America when fully on line by 2025.
With the production processes now powered by renewable energy at the initial three facilities, the business is working to eliminate remaining sources of emissions not directly related to production, such as natural gas for plant heating and propane for forklift trucks.
That work will result in fully net-zero facilities within the next few years, and Saint-Gobain will expand the program to additional Siding manufacturing sites. In addition to emissions reduction, pursuit of Saint-Gobain’s sustainability goals through multiple projects within the Siding Group has resulted in significant reductions in water use and discharge, and landfill contributions, including the 50% reduction of water consumption (over 9 million gallons) by its Jackson, Michigan facility resulting from the installation of a smart water submetering system and upgraded production equipment.
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