YKK AP America (YKK AP) announced that it has achieved an important milestone toward reaching its organizational sustainability goals, and now sources 80 percent of its aluminum from low-carbon North American suppliers.

This milestone is part of the company’s Evolution 2030 initiative, first established by YKK AP Inc. in 2023, with a vision to contribute to the global environment, create new value for customers, and prioritize employee well-being and engagement. Responsible material sourcing is fundamental to this initiative, ensuring that its already energy-efficient products contribute to an overall lower carbon footprint.

This commitment extends beyond materials to YKK AP’s vertically integrated manufacturing processes, allowing the company to maintain full control over production, quality, and sustainability. Unlike other manufacturers, YKK AP melts and casts its own aluminum billets in house, ensuring consistency while also incorporating a circular production model—recycling 100% of in-house aluminum scrap and maintaining at least 30% recycled content in its aluminum billets.

“At YKK AP, we are committed to our organizational sustainability goals to reduce carbon intensity, with a combination of sourcing low carbon aluminum, and improving manufacturing practices and recyclability," said Raymond Shelton, chief sustainability and communications officer, YKK AP America Inc. “In one year, we cut carbon emissions in the manufacturing of our aluminum billets by 50 percent compared to the previous year. We take great pride in this progress, and yet we understand there is more work to be done. We plan to continue investing in production upgrades, energy efficiency, automation, and the conversion to electricity and renewable energy to continue to meet our goals.”

YKK AP continues to lead the industry in its sustainability practices. YKK AP’s manufacturing plants including Erie Architectural Products plant in Lakeshore, ON are ISO 14001 certified, a standard which reduces the environmental footprint of a business as well as decreases the pollution and waste a business produces.

Additionally, YKK AP is regularly recognized for its environmental practices, most recently by the Georgia Water Coalition with the Clean 13 Award, which recognizes organizations whose initiatives have led to a more sustainable future for Georgians. In 2009, the company was the first manufacturer to bring products to market designed specifically to address energy needs, and in 2015, YKK AP elevated its commitment to sustainability by becoming the first facades manufacturer to voluntarily provide third-party certified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for all products in its portfolio.

To learn more about YKK AP’s environmental practices, go to

https://www.ykkap.com/commercial/company/environmental-social-responsibility/.