Sarah Jorgenson
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management
Chris Laszlo
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Owens Corning is a global company with about 16,000 employees and is comprised of three business lines: insulation, roofing and composites. Despite being rooted in production, sustainability is a big part of the corporate culture as evidenced by their sustainability reports, 2020 environmental footprint goals, and numerous awards for safety and sustainability. This company proves that sustainability can be adapted into and flourish in existing systems and processes and proves that doing good for the environment does not have to preclude doing well as a business.
Owens Corning is harnessing the power of solar energy through the use of solar arrays at several of its locations. The company’s world headquarters boasts a 2.4 megawatt array that covers the entire 9.5 acre employee parking lot and provides 30 percent of the location’s electric needs. In Delmar, New York, a 2.7 megawatt solar array provides approximately 7 percent of the location’s electricity, which is no small feat at the fiberglass producing plant. “We are trying to expand our renewable portfolio wherever it makes sense” says Gale Tedhams, director of sustainability.
In addition to the solar arrays, one of Owens Corning’s many other sustainability initiatives includes the use of wind farms in Texas and Oklahoma, providing a total of 250 megawatts of electricity to the company. The Texas location alone, owned by Invenergy and leased to Owens Corning, is anticipated to provide an amount of carbon-free electricity that is the equivalent needed to power 32,000 U.S. homes a year, which Owens Corning will be putting into the grid in exchange for the renewable energy certificates.
As a player in the insulation business, Owens Corning has by default been working towards more sustainable practices for decades. During the 1970’s oil crisis the company ran television commercials geared towards the idea that insulation is cheaper than oil; not only was that particularly true at that time and a good promotion for the business but it also espouses the nature of sustainability by showing a long-term solution that will end up being both cheaper and more environmentally friendly than the short-term fixes.
Owens Corning created a new level of commitment to sustainability with their first set of 10-year footprint reduction goals in 2002. During this time Owens Corning established their footprint baseline, named their first Chief Sustainability Officer, and added sustainability metrics to their long-term incentive plan. When the 10 year goals were reached only eight years later, Owens Corning developed a second 10-year plan that based around a four-point sustainability strategy. A third set of goals have already been established for greenhouse gas and toxic air emission reductions as those goals were reached 2015.
The four-point sustainability strategy is as follows:
Reduce environmental impact at manufacturing facilities (including reducing energy, greenhouse gas emissions, waste, and air emissions)
Increase and improve impact from their products - improving the production process and making the products themselves greener. Said Tedhams, “The greener you make your products, the greener your make your operations – they go hand in hand.”
Collaborate with others outside the company, such as builders, architects and designers, and composites organizations to extend the company’s reach in making materials and processes more efficient in order to make the end product better for the environment
Focus on the safety, wellness, and well-being of the company’s employees, their families, and their communities.
Owens Corning is well recognized as a company that is flourishing in the business world while being a leader in sustainable efforts. Their commitment to make greener products has resulted in business benefits through industry recognition and environmental benefits for producing safe, sustainable products.
Owens Corning has received significant recognition as a sustainability leader including being named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, Aon Hewitt’s Top Companies for Leaders, and winning the JEC Americas Innovation Award in the Wind Energy category. Owens Corning has also been highlighted by National Geographic for their solar and wind solutions.
Owens Corning’s commitment to make greener products and processes has resulted in benefits to the employees (research has shown that OC glass fibers are safe to manufacture), and uncountable environmental benefits through solar and wind solutions and reductions in greenhouse emissions, air pollutants, waste-to-landfill intensity, and water intensity. Owens Corning also works to preserve the biodiversity and ecological habitats that surround their sites worldwide and are working towards third-party Wildlife Habitat Council certification.
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Gale Tedhams, Director, Products and Supply Chain Sustainability
