The Time Is Now to Take Action to Make Positive Change for the Environment Within the Construction Sector

With approximately 37% of the greenhouse gas emissions coming from the built environment, companies must take an active role in driving change from within the industry to reduce our carbon footprint. As the worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, it is our responsibility to make sure that we not only a create products that are environmentally friendly, but that they are also manufactured in a way that reduces our impact on the environment. The solutions exist and working together we can create change and make a positive impact on the world.

A Leader in Light and Sustainable Construction

One of the ways Saint-Gobain is leading the way in sustainability within the construction and manufacturing industries is finding new ways to make construction materials lighter in design, without compromising quality and performance. Lightweight construction reduces the environmental footprint of buildings while optimizing the consumption of resources. It uses up to 50% less embedded carbon, up to 50% less raw materials, and is up to 50% lighter than traditional construction. And the fact is with these principles, it is not that much more complicated or expensive to build a very sustainable building or home if you know how to do it and have the right products. At Saint-Gobain North America, we bring innovative materials and solutions for interior and exterior application in residential and commercial construction.?

It is also essential that we take action to reduce our reliance on virgin raw materials and move towards the reuse and circularity of resources. We recycle gypsum boards and PVC into vinyl siding. At our CertainTeed Canada plant in Vancouver, British Columbia, we surpassed one million tons of recycled gypsum returned to production in April 2023.? That’s enough gypsum wallboard for nearly 250,000 homes in the province. Innovative solutions for sustainability are the future of the industry. Early in 2023, we acquired technology from our recycling partner Asphaltica that allows us to recycle asphalt shingle waste into pellets, diverting it from landfill. ?These pellets blend in hot asphalt mix, creating a circular economy. In every plant throughout Saint-Gobain North America, we have a road map on reducing scope 1 emissions to make sure we’re driving towards zero carbon by 2050.

At our gypsum plant in Buchanan, NY, our smart energy management system was recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy with a?2023 Better Project Award. This system gives real-time, in-depth data that allows the team to track and contextualize energy data, forecast future energy use, and tackle actual losses once identified. Our Buchanan plant, and this system are a model for our company, and we have plans to deploy similar technologies throughout North America. ?

How Wellbeing Fits Into Sustainable Solutions

As a company, we have set very ambitious goals to be carbon neutral by 2050 in order to meet the global warming target set in the Paris Agreement. One of the challenges we must overcome is that 85% of the homes that will exist in 2050 have already been built today. That means we need to find creative solutions to retrofit existing homes to make them more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.? These are important needs for current and future homeowners, and they are not as expensive as you might assume. For people who live in the extreme heat belt, increasing the energy efficiency of homes so North Americans can be comfortable without breaking the bank is imperative. There’s a large misconception that a zero-energy house is more expensive and less aesthetically pleasing than a traditional home. ?If we prioritize making our homes more energy efficient, that will do more for the environment and save more money than upgrading to an electric vehicle. The changes don’t need to be major—you can apply a window film to your windows instead of replacing them, using solar shingles on your roof, adding an air barrier behind siding, or ensuring your attic has insulation.?

At the company level, we are actively seeking solutions to manufacture these products efficiently by upgrading equipment to save energy, reduce water consumption, and reduce landfill waste. The three virtual power purchasing agreements (VPPAs) we have finalized are expected to offset scope 2 emissions from electricity by 70%. Right now, we’re working toward ?the a net carbon neutral gypsum plant for scope 1 and 2 emissions ?in Montreal in partnership with Hydro-Québec . Once complete, this plant will be the first net-zero carbon gypsum wallboard plant in North America.

Journey to 2030

We have ambitious targets for reducing carbon emissions, not only in North America, but throughout Saint-Gobain around the world. I challenge others to set measurable sustainability goals so that we can positively impact our environment. It’s up to us to make these changes now.? In order to achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, there are key targets we must hit by 2030. One of those goals is to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 33% compared to our baseline in 2017.

You can follow along on our #JourneyTo2030 at Saint-Gobain North America on LinkedIn as we tackle these important topics in sustainability, such as the need to move towards a circularity of resources.