TOLEDO, Ohio, June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Owens Corning
(NYSE: OC) today released its fifth annual Sustainability Report,
which outlines the company's environmental footprint reduction
performance relative to seven key aspects of resource consumption,
waste and air emissions. The company also announced a new set
of 2020 goals designed to raise the bar on its commitment to
sustainability.
"Our 2010 Sustainability Report demonstrates Owens Corning's
continued focus on – and progress toward – 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."
O'Brien-Bernini said the seventh goal, involving footprint
reductions in volatile organic compounds, has generated a
14-percent improvement since 2002 and has already begun to benefit
from the company's recent conversion to the manufacture of its
revolutionary EcoTouch™ insulation. EcoTouch™ is a new class
of high-performance residential and commercial insulation made with
a minimum of 99 percent minerals and plant-based compounds and is
third-party certified to be a minimum 50 percent recycled content
and formaldehyde-free.
Among the key accomplishments highlighted in the report is a
24-percent intensity reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
compared to 2009 levels. The company removed 950,000 metric
tons of CO2e from its operations in 2010, which is equivalent to
eliminating the carbon dioxide-related impact of more than 170,000
passenger cars. The report highlights additional information
on GHG emissions, as well as progress toward intensity reductions
in energy usage, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds,
particulate matter, waste-to-landfill contributions and water
usage.
Having significantly reduced its environmental footprint over
the past eight years, the company also announced a new set of
footprint reduction goals in the report. These 2020 goals
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,"
O'Brien-Bernini added.
The 2010 report also features the company's caring for its
employees through its continued quest for an injury-free workplace.
In 2010, the company improved its rate of injuries by 23
percent, marking its ninth consecutive year of safety improvement.
In addition, the report highlights information about the
Owens Corning's community involvement and increased accountability
for sustainable operations and behavior.
Owens Corning expanded its sustainability presence with several
important developments. In 2010, the company:
- Earned placement in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index,
an elite listing of the top 10 percent of the world's 2,500 largest
companies based on long-term economic, environmental and social
criteria.
- Joined the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest
voluntary corporate responsibility initiative. With its
emphasis on sustainability and responsible business practices, the
U.N. Global Compact provides the company a strong platform for
embracing good corporate principles in the areas of human rights,
labor, environment and anti-corruption.
- Was named to Corporate Responsibility Magazine's "100
Best Corporate Citizens™" list, reflecting its continued progress
and dedication to balancing economic growth with social progress
and environmental stewardship.
Owens Corning's 2010 Sustainability Report is consistent with
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines know as GRI-G3.
GRI's Sustainability Reporting Guidelines set a globally
applicable framework for reporting the economic, environmental and
social dimensions of an organization's activities, products and
services.
The full report and a downloadable summary progress report are
available online at: www.sustainability.owenscorning.com.
About Owens Corning
Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) is a leading global producer of
residential and commercial building materials, glass-fiber
reinforcements and engineered materials for composite systems.
A Fortune® 500 company for 57 consecutive years, Owens
Corning is committed to driving sustainability by delivering
solutions, transforming markets and enhancing lives. Founded
in 1938, Owens Corning is a market-leading innovator of glass-fiber
technology with sales of $5.0 billion
in 2010 and approximately 15,000 employees in 28 countries on five
continents. Additional information is available at:
www.owenscorning.com.
SOURCE Owens Corning