Toledo, Ohio-headquartered Owens Corning says three of its commercial and residential insulation types that have been independently certified as made with wind power are now available for specification and purchase.
According to the company, these products represent the first ever to have met the requirements of SCS Global Services’ certification protocol to validate that the electricity used to make them is 100% wind powered.
This certification follows power purchase agreements Owens Corning signed in 2015 for wind farms in Texas and Oklahoma. Both projects came online in late 2016 and can generate 1.1 million MWh of electricity per year. For every megawatt-hour of renewable electricity generated, the company receives one renewable energy credit (REC). It then applies the RECs toward the manufacture of more sustainable products, Owens Corning explains.
While the new offering helps Owens Corning reduce its carbon footprint – its stated goal is a 50% reduction by 2020 over its 2010 baseline – the certified insulation products, made with 100% wind energy, give architects, builders and homeowners the option to build greener structures.
“Reducing the embodied carbon in building products has long been a discussion across the building industry,” says Frank O’Brien-Bernini, Owens Corning’s vice president and chief sustainability officer. “We’re excited to see it come to life through certified products made with renewable energy and reduced embodied carbon.”
According to Owens Corning, the products’ reduced embodied carbon refers to the carbon dioxide equivalent emitted throughout the product lifecycle, including raw material extraction, transportation and manufacture.
