Decarbonising construction: from corporate promises to collective impact

Scepticism towards corporate environmental claims is reaching new heights. A recent 凯捷咨询 survey notes that 53% of people across generations now believe companies are greenwashing their sustainability initiatives. The solution? Providing concrete evidence of genuine sustainability efforts. At Saint-Gobain, this evidence is rooted in our actions and in our commitment to mobilising our entire value chain.

• It is now widely recognised that achieving carbon neutrality requires lasting collaboration among stakeholders throughout the value chain. This is especially true for the construction industry—a complex , global, and fragmented sector responsible for 37% of global CO2 emissions—where no single actor can drive the transition at the speed and scale needed.
• In the words of Saint-Gobain’s Chairman and CEO, Benoit BAZIN , “Collaboration across the entire value chain is key to success, bringing together architects, design offices, materials manufacturers, mayors, craftsmen, builders, and distributors to optimise buildings from design and construction to management and end-of-life.” With 2,000 points of sale and hundreds of factories worldwide, Saint-Gobain maintains close relationships with industry and local partners, positioning us to drive meaningful change. Our new Climate Notebook details exactly how we strive to achieve this.

?? Read here Saint-Gobain's Climate Notebook 2004

• Scope 3 emissions—those originating from a company’s value chain rather than its own operations—can constitute up to 90% of total emissions, according to the World Economic Forum . Reducing these emissions requires improved measurement and heightened awareness among buyers, logistics teams, and suppliers. For Saint-Gobain, this has meant equipping our purchasing teams with digital tools to assess Scope 3 emissions, evaluating the maturity of our suppliers’ climate commitments, and developing joint carbon reduction action plans. We also support our clients in tracking their emissions by sharing insights into the carbon footprint of our solutions.
• For instance, Saint-Gobain Glass recently integrated its low-carbon Oraé glass into the Calumen digital tool, enabling construction professionals to measure Oraé’s CO2 impact on their architectural projects.
• However, effective decarbonisation must extend beyond economic actors to include civil society and local communities. Companies need to engage these groups through public discussions on local climate issues, sustainable construction training, and support for vulnerable populations. Mobilising these stakeholders is a core mission of our Sustainable Construction Observatory , beginning with our Sustainable Construction Baromete r, which tracks progress toward sustainable construction. To complement this ecosystem, the webzine Constructing A Sustainable Future aims share the greatest achievements, best practices and innovations that will accelerate the sector’s transition.
• Nudging Saint-Gobain’s ecosystem towards action also involves creating forums to discuss best practices, challenges, and opportunities. In this fragmented ecosystem—where a wide range of actors, from companies to architects, regulators, consumers, and investors, have the power to drive progress—in-person interaction is crucial. Over the past year, our Sustainable Construction Talks , held in Paris, Dubai, and New York, have served precisely this purpose.
• Yet, change starts within, and it is the construction industry’s duty to train future generations in sustainable building practices while fostering employee engagement through climate education. To this end, Saint-Gobain aims to have 80% of employees complete Climate Fresk workshops by 2025, with over 1,600 internal facilitators trained to lead these sessions. With 1.8 million participants globally, the Climate Fresk has become a powerful tool for spreading climate awareness and helping employees explore opportunities for individual and collective action. Beyond awareness, Saint-Gobain empowers employees through carbon funds and by encouraging collaboration on sponsorship projects to accelerate housing renovation.
• The bottom line? Only by supporting our environmental commitments with measurable actions and results across the entire value chain can we rebuild the trust needed to combat greenwashing concerns and accelerate the green transition!

Innovation station

What if we could replace the sand traditionally used in coating bodies with… hemp?

• That’s the bold innovation behind Weber’s brand-new lime-hemp coating body, Enaé. The product completely replaces silica sand with hemp shiv, which makes up 40% of its total volume (verified FDES). Made from annually grown hemp that requires no pesticides or herbicides, this material provides optimal performance while conserving resources – making Enaé one of the first ready-to-use bio-sourced renders on the market.
• Set to revolutionise fa?ade workers’ daily operations, this lightweight coating, available in 15-kilo bags, can be applied in thick layers across multiple surfaces and is particularly easy to handle. The product of three years of R&D, Enaé offers an ultra-light solution for waterproofing masonry in both renovation and new construction. Find out more here .

Window to the future

Despite being a crucial lever for the green transition, thermal renovation of buildings is progressing (too) slowly. To pick up the pace, again, one ingredient is key: collaboration.

• Of France’s 36 million homes,?one-third were built before World War II, and another third between 1946 and 1990 – and many are poorly insulated. Energy renovation is particularly lagging for the 20 million individual homes outside dense urban areas.
• To speed up renovation, Saint-Gobain France has joined forces with 20?stakeholders from the real estate sector, local authorities, associations, and professional organizations to develop 8 proposals detailed in a White Paper submitted to the French Minister for Housing.
• From better supporting co-owners in their renovation projects to simplifying energy renovation assistance and improving information and training, explore our proposals here !

Can you guess?

What do a traditional Emirati home, a 3D-printed house in the Netherlands, and a low-carbon dwelling in Norway have in common?

• Answer: They all incorporate Saint-Gobain’s sustainable solutions! On World Habitat Day (launched by the @UN to reflect on the state of housing, towns, and cities), we shared our vision for sustainable housing that respects local history and the environment while adapting to individual needs through modularity and reversibility.
• Watch to discover some of our latest landmark projects, from the Middle East to Northern Europe! ??

Pioneers

For companies, working towards sustainability isn’t just about corporate policy – it’s about empowering employees to act at every level. That’s where our Act Sustainably and Carbon Fund programs come in!

• “Act Sustainably Program allows each of us to be an actor of the environmental transition. As the colibri, we all have our part to play” – Louisa Maréchal-Fabre , CSR Director Benelux, Act Sustainably Coordinator for SEMEA, Saint-Gobain.

Through these initiatives, our teams are mobilising to conduct local projects and initiatives aimed at cutting CO2 emissions, increasing waste sorting, and preserving biodiversity – showing that collective commitment makes a difference.

• Tracking down the Group's slightest source ofCO2 emissions savings: this has been the mission of employees in the Northern Europe Region every year since 2021, as part of the Fonds Carbone program.?Since the program was launched, nearly 3,300 ideas have been submitted by employees.?

At Saint-Gobain Sweden AB, Isover , for instance, food waste is collected and sorted on-site before being processed into biogas. The project has become a reference in the Nordics and an inspiration for Gyproc, Saint-Gobain Ecophon AB and Saint-Gobain Sekurit , which have implemented similar practices.

In Eastern Europe, over 2,350 people (60% of our employees in the region) have participated in Climate Fresk sessions, boosting their understanding of the climate crisis and motivation to take action. Learn more about our projects here !!

Building bridges

Saint-Gobain is partnering with TotalEnergies to supply its French industrial sites with renewable wind and solar energy.

• Saint-Gobain has signed a renewable electricity purchase agreement with TotalEnergies to supply our industrial sites in France; starting in January 2026, the agreement will provide a total of 875 GWh over 5 years.
• This partnership is helping us decarbonise our production processes, a significant step towards our ambition to reach net-zero by 2050. Thanks to this agreement and three others we have signed in France since 2021, 30% of the power used by Saint-Gobain in the country will come from renewable sources by 2027.

Expanding our horizon

In an industry still heavily male-dominated, Saint-Gobain’s teams are determined to change the narrative!

• In Pont-à-Mousson, France, passersby may have encountered an unusual sight : a 10-ton, 2-meter pink pipe, installed in Duroc Square by Saint-Gobain PAM Canalisation to celebrate #PinkOctober. Throughout the month, the PAM teams are rallying to host conferences, organise charity runs, and raise donations for breast cancer awareness.
• Looking for your next watch? A new documentary shines a light on the women shaking things up at POINT.P - SGDB France . Discover their incredible career paths in this moving film, which is enriched with powerful testimonials from site managers, saleswomen, branch managers, CFOs, and insightful reflections from labour sociologist Isabelle Barth and star chef Hélène Darroze.