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OC releases sustainability report and announces new targets for 2020
Written by Global Insulation staff
06 July 2011
US: Owens Corning has released its 5th annual Sustainability Report, outlining the company's environmental footprint reduction performance. "Our 2010 Sustainability Report demonstrates Owens Corning's continued focus on and progress towards improvements in greening our operations and products and accelerating energy efficiency and renewables penetration in the built environment," said Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Frank O'Brien-Bernini. "We have met three of our seven goals already and are confident that six of the seven goals will be achieved by 2012."
Among the key accomplishments highlighted in the report is a 24% intensity reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to 2009 levels. The company removed 950,000t of CO2 from its operations in 2010, which is equivalent to eliminating the CO2 impact of more than 170,000 passenger cars. The report also detailed progress towards intensity reductions in energy usage, and reductions in nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, waste-to-landfill contributions and water usage.
The company took the opportunity to launch a new set of 2020 goals designed to raise the bar on its commitment to sustainability. The announced 2020 goals will target reductions in energy, greenhouse gas, water, toxic air emissions, particulate matter and waste-to-landfill measures, as well as supplier sustainability and life cycle assessments.
"These new goals raise the bar on our commitment to sustainability and reflect an increasingly holistic approach that encompasses how our company operates, the attributes of our products and our desire to affect change by partnering with our customers and suppliers to deliver sustainable solutions," added O'Brien-Bernini.
The disagreement comes at the same time as the publication of an article in the journal Respirology that warns of massive rises in deaths from asbestos-related lung diseases in Asia in the coming decades. Dr Ken Takahashi, Acting Director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health (WHOCCOH) and his team put together data on asbestos use in 47 Asian countries for the report.
Asian countries accounted for 64% of the global consumption of asbestos in 2001-2007, a striking increase from 14% between 1920 and 1970. This is the result of unregulated asbestos import and use in many Asian countries.
EU Commissioner wants improved insulation
Written by Global Insulation staff
04 July 2011
Europe: The EU energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger has said that European Union (EU) member states should install insulation in their public buildings, going as far as saying that the 27 nations should be forced to do so. Oettinger thinks that insulation should be improved by 3% in public buildings and that that this improvement should occur year-on-year starting in 2014.
The EU is ultimately aiming to cut energy consumption in buildings by 20% by 2020. It would also like to create new public procurement rules aimed at awarding contracts to products and services that are energy-efficient.
New Kazakh insulating concrete line
Written by Global Insulation staff
01 July 2011
Kazakhstan: Ecostroyservice JSC has commissioned a manufacturing line to produce a wide range of insulating concrete products in the Karaganda region of central Kazakhstan. The total investment in the project will be USD1.6m design production capacity is 36,000m3/yr.
"The positive feature of these building materials is low heat conductivity," said Ecostroyservice's Serik Akhmetov at the plant's launch. "Production of special heat insulation materials will allow heat losses to be reduced by 10-20 times," he added.
Serious Materials changes name
Written by Global Insulation staff
27 June 2011
US: Serious Materials has announced that it has changed its name to Serious Energy. The new name reflects the company's suite of advanced building products and energy software services designed to 'increase the value of America's buildings', for both owners and occupants. For building owners, the goal is to increase net operating income. For occupants, the goal is to increase comfort, productivity and health at lower operating costs.
Asahi’s Chinese unit to start by July 2011
Written by Global Insulation staff
23 June 2011
China/Japan: The first overseas base of Japanese fibreglass producer Asahi Fiber Glass, which was formed in Shanghai in April 2011, will enter full-scale operation at the end of June 2011, supporting the company's goal of developing its business in the high-growth Asian market as well as the domestic market.
The new base will initially focus on supplying the local operations of Japanese companies with imports from Japan and carry out trading functions, under the supervision of manager Manabu Suzuki. In the future it will explore the establishment of local processing bases for thermal-insulation building materials, vacuum insulation materials and automotive sound-absorbing materials through partnerships with Chinese companies and mergers and acquisions.
Asahi Fiber Glass regards China as an ideal foothold for entry into the southern Asian region, where demand is growing for glass wool as a vacuum insulation material and a sound-absorbing material for automobiles. The Chinese market for glass wool has already expanded to more than double the size of the Japanese market and its expansion looks set to continue.