USG Corporation, a leading building products company, is pleased to announce that it has adopted the Architecture 2030 Challenge for Products in its acoustical ceiling portfolio. Architecture 2030 is a non-profit organization whose mission is to rapidly transform the built environment from the major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to a central part of the solution to the climate and energy crises.

In 2011, Architecture 2030 issued the 2030 Challenge for Products, a measured and achievable strategy to dramatically reduce the embodied GHG emissions of building products by the year 2030. The 2030 Challenge for Products calls on the global architecture, planning, design, and building community to design with and specify products manufactured with a carbon footprint of 30 percent below the product average through 2014. Manufacturers are challenged to continue to reduce their carbon footprints, incrementally reducing them by 50 percent of the baseline.

“USG has focused on enhancing the energy efficiency of our manufacturing processes for more than 40 years and continues to reduce manufacturing energy intensity and embodied energy in our products through our continuous improvement processes. USG’s commitment to Architecture 2030 is a natural extension of our existing practices and we are excited to be part of the team,” said Brent Seppa, general manager, ceilings.

“To reduce the building sector’s contribution to climate change, it is critical that we get a handle on the embodied carbon impact from building products,” said Edward Mazria, CEO & founder of Architecture 2030. “USG’s commitment to low-carbon products and transparency positions them as a clear leader in the building sector.”

As part of the 2030 Challenge for Products, manufacturers are asked to provide Environmental Product Declarations for their products. EPDs provide full disclosure of the environmental impacts of a product throughout the product’s lifecycle, from invention/extraction to end-of-life disposition, commonly referred to as a life cycle assessment (LCA). This level of transparency also includes quantifying the carbon footprint of the product, which will be used to compare products against the Architecture 2030 Challenge baseline. USG recently released 12 environmental product declarations for products in its ceilings portfolio.

With the sustainability market slowly migrating from comparing a single product attribute such as recycled content, to encompassing multi-product environmental attributes across a product’s life cycle, the need for EPDs and LCAs continues to rise. As a leader in sustainability, USG recognizes the importance of optimizing product knowledge to the architect, design professional and contractor community so they can make intelligent decisions when comparing products.

“It’s important to take a holistic approach when comparing and understanding the full impact a product has on the environment,” said Rik Master, senior manager of sustainability for USG. “EPDs allow for this type of approach because one certified EPD contains all the information necessary to make an educated and informed decision about the sustainability of a product.”

While the EPD reporting mechanism is relatively new, USG has been doing LCAs for decades, experiencing first-hand the positive impact an LCA can have on manufacturing processes and evaluation of energy consumption.

EPDs are now available for the following USG ceiling products, listed by product family category:

• Cast:

o   Frost Firecode, Sandrift Firecode, Glacier  Firecode , Frost ClimaPlus, Sandrift ClimaPlus, Bria ClimaPlus, Glacier, “F” Fissured.

• X-Technology:

o   Eclipse ClimaPlus, Eclipse ClimaPlus HRC, Eclipse ClimaPlus Firecode, Astro ClimaPlus, Mars ClimaPlus, Mars ClimaPlus HRC, Mars ClimaPlus Healthcare, Mars ClimaPlus High-NRC, Millennia ClimaPlus

• Wet-felted:

o   Olympia Micro ClimaPlus, Olympia Micro ClimaPlus HRC, Olympia Micro ClimaPlus.60 NRC, Radar, Radar Firecode, Radar ClimaPlus Firecode, Radar ClimaPlus High-NRC/High-CAC Firecode, Radar ClimaPlus, Radar ClimaPlus High-NRC, Radar ClimaPlus High-NRC/High-CAC, Radar ClimaPlus Open Plan,

o   Radar ClimaPlus High Durability, Radar ClimaPlus High-CAC

In addition to the ceilings category, USG plans to create EPDs across multiple product portfolios such as wallboard and flooring underlayments. The company is working to establish product category rules (PCRs) for the other portfolios, which will determine what information will be included in the EPD.

For additional information on the 2030 Challenge for Products, visit http://architecture2030.org/2030_challenge/products.