
It’s no secret that the building industry is responsible for about 40 percent of annual CO2 emissions. With embodied carbon as the source for 11 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and millions of tons of lifecycle carbon emissions, reducing embodied carbon has become a key objective among many manufacturers of concrete, steel, and other building products to create more competitive environmental product declarations (EPDs).
“The baseline of where we are right now is that most people are making a step towards decarbonizing,” says Brent Trenga, director of sustainability for Kingspan Panels North America. Through methods that include developing on-site direct renewable energy and working with local utilities to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, the company’s Planet Passionate sustainability program has reduced its GHG emissions by 26 percent and saved 173 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions just last year.
With renewable energy accounting for just 13.1 percent of total primary energy used in the United States in 2022 and 21.5 percent of total energy generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, replacing a factory’s power source from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy technologies can be a challenge in many locations. It’s easier when the local utility company offers renewable alternatives. However, it’s not impossible.
Partner with the local utility.
About half of the U.S. has the option to buy renewable energy from their local supplier, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Specifically, local electricity utility providers generated 10.2 percent from wind, 6.2 percent from hydropower, and 3.4 percent from solar last year. For those who are lucky enough to be located in this half of the country, it’s just a matter of contacting the local utility to verify and request renewable energy.
“Survey every utility provider you have, find out which ones offer renewable energy solutions now, and execute on those right out of the gate,” says Trenga. “Sometimes you just don't have options, and you have to move on to other parts of the business or other regions where you can have an impact or change.”
Consider a sleeve deal.
When the local utility company doesn’t offer alternative or renewable energy, it can be more difficult to reach sustainability goals. Another option called a purchasing power agreement (PPA) allows the purchase of renewable energy using the local utility as the go-between.
With a sleeved PPA, renewable energy is used from a third-party provider and transferred through your local retailer utility company. For a fee, the local utility transfers the renewable energy from the provider to you.
Explore virtual power agreements.
While not everyone can buy renewable energy from their local power grid or create a sleeve deal, everyone in the U.S. has the option to buy virtual power purchasing agreements (VPPAs) through renewable energy certificates (RECs).
The upside is that VPPAs are probably the easiest way to circumnavigate the challenges of supporting renewable power use on the planet and reach a company’s sustainability goals. The downside is that VPPAs don’t factor into a manufacturer’s life cycle analysis (LCA) and environmental product declarations (EPDs) at the moment.
Since they are virtual, VPPAs don’t change the energy used to manufacture a product at a specific location. It’s a financial deal that supports a renewable energy project in another part of the country that doesn’t supply your local power grid.
Invest in on-site direct renewable energy.
Just the phrase ‘on-site direct renewable’ may create a touch of initial anxiety, considering it can involve replacing and updating equipment, training workers, and implementing new protocols.
“It can be extremely expensive because either you have machinery that can be changed out from gas to electric or the whole machine has to be replaced and that could be very costly,” says Trenga. “But, from a cost-benefit side, it's probably cheaper to do that conversion than to keep paying very high premiums for power long term.”
Whether there’s space for wind power or a way to include solar or biomass, physically generated power on site may be worth the initial investment because over time it can be easier to source at a more reasonable price point. “Find out what alternatives exist in the market,” says Trenga. “The solutions are out there.”
For more information about Kingspan’s 10-year sustainability program called Planet Passionate, head over to kingspan.com