EPDs are an arrow in Guardian Glass’s quiver to fulfill its mission of stewardship.
Guardian Glass is dedicated to enhancing customer lives through sustainable product offerings and employs various strategies, including Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), to fulfill its promise to customers and advance its environmental goals. Having EPDs boosts transparency and strengthens Guardian Glass’ existing relationship with consumers.
Consumers are increasingly prioritizing products with lower carbon footprints, reduced water consumption, and increased recycled content, relying on EPDs as the gold standard to verify these attributes. Guardian Glass has embraced EPDs to reassure consumers that their preferences are understood.
Guardian Glass products, with their lower embodied carbon totals, are a key component of the company’s several Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). Courtesy Guardian Glass
The company’s commitment to EPDs is particularly critical given the energy-intensive nature of the float glass sector.
"By employing EPDs, Guardian Glass gains insights into 'hot spots' where inputs or outputs have the largest contribution to our cradle-to-gate embodied carbon value,” explains Darlene Aldred, residential segment marketing director at Guardian Glass. “If there are discrepancies from one plant to another, we have the opportunity to understand them and evaluate what can be done to improve processes across plants.”
Guardian Glass has enhanced its internal expertise in life cycle assessments (LCA) through the EPD documentation process. This has enabled the company to utilize more-detailed information for upstream raw materials and integrate additional renewable energy sources into its operations. “We are constantly examining opportunities to further reduce the indirect and direct carbon emissions associated with the float glass production process, from selecting lower-carbon raw materials and increasing the use of glass cullet (broken or scrap glass),” Aldred says.
An EPD requires data about a product’s development, such as with Guardian Glass’ heat-treated flat glass, developed in eight stages. Courtesy Guardian Glass
For example, recognizing that the energy efficiency of furnaces degrades over time, Guardian Glass implemented a cold tank repair (CTR) on half of its North American furnaces to improve their energy efficiency. With these manufacturing improvements, Guardian Glass was able to decrease the carbon footprint of its unprocessed flat glass by 24 percent from 2018 to 2024. This ensures that the product meets the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) top 20 percent global warming potential (GWP) limits.
Guardian Glass further demonstrates its commitment to environmental stewardship and EPDs by providing life cycle data from seven of its North American float glass plants to help formulate the industry-wide EPD for float glass. This is in addition to the four product-specific EPDs covering its unprocessed flat glass and processed sputter-coated, wet-coated, and heat-treated glass.
Quick Stats
Opening year of Guardian’s first float glass plant: 1970
Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2018 to 2024: 24%
Number of products with an EPD in North America: 4
For customers having trouble navigating these EPDs and deciding which glass to use for their green building projects, Guardian Glass has Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Associates available to share their expertise.
Victoria Muharsky is an ESG specialist at Green Builder Media, where she leads the ESG for Building Working Group. Under her guidance, the group has successfully overseen the release of the groundbreaking ESG Defining Principles. Crafted collaboratively by industry experts, these guidelines are revolutionizing the homebuilding sector's approach to ESG and sustainability.
Glass Sector Leader Promotes Commitment to EPDs
EPDs are an arrow in Guardian Glass’s quiver to fulfill its mission of stewardship.
Consumers are increasingly prioritizing products with lower carbon footprints, reduced water consumption, and increased recycled content, relying on EPDs as the gold standard to verify these attributes. Guardian Glass has embraced EPDs to reassure consumers that their preferences are understood.
Guardian Glass products, with their lower embodied carbon totals, are a key component of the company’s several Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). Courtesy Guardian Glass
The company’s commitment to EPDs is particularly critical given the energy-intensive nature of the float glass sector.
"By employing EPDs, Guardian Glass gains insights into 'hot spots' where inputs or outputs have the largest contribution to our cradle-to-gate embodied carbon value,” explains Darlene Aldred, residential segment marketing director at Guardian Glass. “If there are discrepancies from one plant to another, we have the opportunity to understand them and evaluate what can be done to improve processes across plants.”
Guardian Glass has enhanced its internal expertise in life cycle assessments (LCA) through the EPD documentation process. This has enabled the company to utilize more-detailed information for upstream raw materials and integrate additional renewable energy sources into its operations. “We are constantly examining opportunities to further reduce the indirect and direct carbon emissions associated with the float glass production process, from selecting lower-carbon raw materials and increasing the use of glass cullet (broken or scrap glass),” Aldred says.
An EPD requires data about a product’s development, such as with Guardian Glass’ heat-treated flat glass, developed in eight stages. Courtesy Guardian Glass
For example, recognizing that the energy efficiency of furnaces degrades over time, Guardian Glass implemented a cold tank repair (CTR) on half of its North American furnaces to improve their energy efficiency. With these manufacturing improvements, Guardian Glass was able to decrease the carbon footprint of its unprocessed flat glass by 24 percent from 2018 to 2024. This ensures that the product meets the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) top 20 percent global warming potential (GWP) limits.
Guardian Glass further demonstrates its commitment to environmental stewardship and EPDs by providing life cycle data from seven of its North American float glass plants to help formulate the industry-wide EPD for float glass. This is in addition to the four product-specific EPDs covering its unprocessed flat glass and processed sputter-coated, wet-coated, and heat-treated glass.
Quick Stats
For customers having trouble navigating these EPDs and deciding which glass to use for their green building projects, Guardian Glass has Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Associates available to share their expertise.
By Victoria Muharsky
Victoria Muharsky is an ESG specialist at Green Builder Media, where she leads the ESG for Building Working Group. Under her guidance, the group has successfully overseen the release of the groundbreaking ESG Defining Principles. Crafted collaboratively by industry experts, these guidelines are revolutionizing the homebuilding sector's approach to ESG and sustainability.Also Read