Owens Corning: Going for LEED Gold

The U.S. Green Building Council granted its Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Gold certification to only one U.S. insulation plant: Owens Corning’s Gresham, Ore.-based facility. The Toledo, Ohio-based global building materials manufacturer and Alliance Associate is thrilled with the certification that recognizes its state-of-the-art, energy-efficient insulation manufacturing plant.

Leveraging Buildings’ Financial and Environmental Impact

Buildings in the United States are responsible for a significant amount of the nation’s annual energy use and spending, accounting for 40 percent of CO2 emissions, 40 percent of energy consumption and 13 percent of water consumption. Given the number of buildings in the United States, and the fact that this number continues to grow, improving their energy efficiency means huge economic savings. 

As Owens Corning began planning for a new insulation manufacturing plant in 2007, the company recognized a “golden” opportunity to save money while helping the environment and, with the goal of obtaining gold-level LEED certification, designed the Gresham plant as a model of energy efficiency for industrial buildings across the nation.

Soon after the building was constructed in July 2009, the Gresham facility became one of just over 200 LEED gold-certified industrial buildings in the United States. The building’s green features include:

• A storm water management system that provides natural run-off filtration;
• Lighting focused on the facility so it does not affect the surrounding community living and working near the facility;
• Bike racks, showers and changing rooms to encourage bicycle commuters; and
• Low-flow water fixtures that reduce the facility’s water use by 41 percent.

Renewable energy provides 100 percent of the facility’s power.

Overcoming the Challenges of Sustainable Construction

The goal of obtaining LEED certification pushed the company to a level of sustainable construction beyond what it might have accomplished without such a specific target, said Mike Friderichs, who led the company’s conversion to a more sustainable process for manufacturing insulation.

“Our commitment to meet LEED certification standards forced us to consider things we don’t normally consider. Every aspect of construction and operation came under that scrutiny,” Friderichs said in an Owens Corning release.

Although the process of incorporating extreme energy efficiency required building leaders to change plans at times, “we realized the changes were all good, common-sense things with a payback,” Frederichs noted.

A Green Product, Manufactured in a Green Plant, by a Green Company

Showing that “the proof is in the pudding” – or in this case the insulation – the Gresham facility uses the very same insulation that it manufactures: FOAMULAR® insulation is rigid foam within a wall of densely packed air cells that conserves energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and saves on heating/cooling costs. To make the insulation, Owens Corning developed a process that eliminates the need for greenhouse gas-emitting hydrochlorofluorucarbons, or HCFCs.

With this new factory in northwest Oregon, Owens Corning also is greening the distribution process by manufacturing insulation closer to its customers. By cutting out transportation of the insulation to and from other production facilities, Owens Corning avoids emissions of more than 500 tons of CO2 each year and the burning of more than 50,000 gallons of gasoline.

Encouraging ‘Efficiency Consciousness’ in the Workplace

For all its energy efficiency accomplishments, the new plant and its sustainable measures wouldn’t be as effective without an educated staff. That’s why Owens Corning is fostering a corporate environment encouraging energy efficiency and sustainability. 

“I like the fact that this facility not only has 43 new employees — it has 43 new environmental stewards,” said Facility Leader John McClellan in an Owens Corning release in which he also  noted that Owens Corning’s message to its employees is, “We’re here to make a difference.”

“We’re a business, and we’re here to make money, but you can do it in the right way,” McClellan tells employees.

Future Application of Lessons Learned in Gresham

As Owens Corning continues to expand, Friderichs says the company will replicate the Gresham plant’s sustainable features, knowing that the  plant’s accomplishments have demonstrated that with a corporate emphasis on sustainability and a committed team of experts, industrial buildings can be models of energy efficiency.

For more information on Owens Corning’s Gresham facility, read the original release.