Owens Corning's Gresham Plant First LEED(R) Gold-Certified Insulation Facility in the United States

Owens Corning's Gresham Oregon plant becomes first LEED(R) Gold-Certified Insulation Facility in the United States

Owens Corning, Gresham plant
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100% Green Energy Use.

Gresham facility demonstrates its commitment to sustainabilty.

Gresham Strikes Gold

Owens Corning's Gresham Oregon facility celebrated a golden achievement this Fall by receiving the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for new construction from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) (www.usgbc.org).

The LEED award recognizes superior achievement in design, construction and operation of green buildings. Owens Corning's Gresham plant is the only LEED Gold-certified insulation facility in the United States and one of approximately 203 industrial facilities in the U.S. that have been awarded LEED certification. The Gresham plant began operating in July 2009.

During a ceremony at the plant to celebrate the honor, Karel Czanderna, president of the building materials group, said, "Owens Corning is carrying out our commitment to sustainability today by focusing on three areas: greening our products, greening our operations and accelerating energy efficiency improvements in the built environment. This facility reflects all three components of that approach."

"This is a big deal to us, it's a big deal to Owens Corning," added John McClellan, plant leader. "This is the culmination of a long road. This is a success story for a lot of people in this room.

"I like the fact that this facility not only has 43 new employees. It has 43 new environmental stewards. We're here to make a difference. We're a business and we're here to make money, but you can do it in the right way. What we're talking about today is a commitment from Owens Corning and the people in this room to do it in the right way," said McClellan.

The Gresham plant makes FOAMULAR® extruded polystyrene (XPS) rigid foam insulation. It uses a new foam blowing agent, developed by Owens Corning, which meets the requirements of the Montreal Protocol. The product is zero ozone-depleting and has 70 percent less greenhouse gas emissions.

Gresham provides a local source of XPS foam insulation in the western United States and Canada. The plant prevents as least 500 tons of CO² from being emitted each year in transporting product from Midwest production lines. This is equivalent to saving the use of more than 50,000 gallons of gasoline.

Gresham "not only makes a green product, it makes the product in a green building," said McClellan. Though there is no sign of wind turbines, solar panels or a curtain to let in more daylight, the building includes many other green features:

The storm water management system provides natural filtration of the run-off.
The lighting is focused down and on the facility so it will not negatively impact the surrounding community.
Bike racks, showers and changing rooms encourage bike commuters.
Low-flow water fixtures reduce by 41 percent the facility's potable water use.
The patented vacuum forming process saves energy compared to non-vacuum processes.
Renewable energy credits offset facility power with 100 percent renewable sources.

Several government officials attended the ceremony, including Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis, and members from the staffs of Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden.

"I truly appreciate everything Owens Corning has done to make this plant a reality," Bemis said during the ceremony. "This is a great example of teamwork between your company and our community."