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Environmental Sustainability

Product Sustainability

Product Sustainability

Our biggest impact comes through the products we offer and the way they are used. We thoroughly evaluate the sustainability aspects of all we do, from research projects to production processes, and work hard to be good stewards of all we touch – from raw materials to finished products.

Product Transparency

Product Transparency

We have committed to evaluate, and be transparent about, our core products’ impacts throughout their life cycles. Our two-part methodology to calculate and show the full cradle-to-grave environmental impacts includes Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and environmental product declarations (EPDs).

Footprint

Footprint

Every day is a bright new opportunity. An opportunity to save energy, conserve resources, and make decisions that help sustain our planet. At Owens Corning we work together to reduce our negative footprint, and expand our positive handprint.

Recycling

Recycling

Owens Corning is one of the largest users of recycled glass in the world. Learn more about our recycling efforts for glass and other products.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity

Owens Corning is committed to preserving the natural habitats that surround our operations around the world. In 2015, Owens Corning began a partnership with the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) to standardize our approach to biodiversity throughout the company, develop biodiversity action plans using external expertise and site visits, and work towards third party WHC certification.

Biodiversity Statement PDF | 153 KB

Read Cultivating Employee Engagement with Conservation Programs, an Owens Corning case study found on the Wildlife Habitat Council website.

photo of chopped strand composites

Safety of Owens Corning Fiber-based Products

As fibers are at the core of many Owens Corning products, it is not surprising that we have been studying the safety of fibers for decades. We have extensively studied our manufacturing workers and the fiber exposures in our plants and in our customer facilities. In addition, we have conducted a large number of laboratory-based studies.

With the development of a new understanding of fiber safety based on such research, much of which was done in our Science & Technology facility in Granville, Ohio, Owens Corning has become the global leader in producing and selling only safe fiber-based products. By engineering our continuous filament fibers to be too large to be inhaled and by controlling the composition of the raw materials we use to make our insulation wool fibers, we assure that all our fiber-based products are safe to manufacture and use. For more information on safety of fibers, visit:

Continuous Filament Glass Fibre and Human Health

NAIMA Fiber Safety Resources

Waste To Landfill

Waste management is a high priority at Owens Corning, beginning with the operational efficiency of our production processes to the disposition of recyclable materials. We are focused on becoming zero waste-to-landfill (WTL). We continuously look for ways to recover, reuse, and recycle by products and other waste material.

Trash Becomes Animals’ Treasure

Several Owens Corning plants work with Hose2Habitat to repurpose manufacturing waste materials for animal enrichment. The H2H mission is to enhance animal habitats in zoos and sanctuaries through the donation of recycled and other materials.

Waste Not, Want Not

Looking at every source, our Mt. Vernon, Ohio, U.S., insulation plant is one among many that repurposes or recycles waste to continue as part of our commitment to reduce our environmental footprint.