Kingspan has set a target to achieve net zero carbon manufacturing by 2030 as part of its efforts to support the world’s goal of reducing emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
The organisation has launched its 10-year ‘Planet Passionate’ strategy, which consist of 12 ambitious targets that addresses the impact of Kingspan’s business operations and manufacturing on the four key areas of energy, carbon, circularity and water.
Its commitments include powering 60% of all Kingspan operations directly using renewable energy, with a minimum of 20% of this generated on manufacturing sites, upcycling one billion PET bottles a year into insulation products and zero waste to landfill across all sites by 2030
The company is also aiming for a 50% reduction in product CO2 intensity from primary supply partners and seeks to harvest 100 million litres of its water usage from rainwater during the same period.
Kingspan has also announced membership of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy 100 (CE100), which provides a space for businesses to learn, share knowledge and build new collaborative approaches.
The construction industry is one of the biggest emitters of carbon and greenhouse gases, with construction and buildings combined currently accounting for 39% of all carbon emissions globally.
It is also responsible for an estimated 30% of all waste to landfill globally.
The World Green Building Council estimates embodies carbon, i.e. carbon used in the manufacturing, construction and disposal of building materials, will be responsible for half of the entire carbon footprint of new construction between now and 2050.
Bianca Wong, Global Head of Sustainability at Kingspan, said: “To protect our planet, carbon emissions need to fall by 45% by 2030 and to net zero by 2050 – but we’re currently on course to miss this goal by at least five-fold. At Kingspan we recognise the need for all businesses to take urgent action. We also know that more sustainable building products, combined with high-performance building envelope design, have the potential to save enormous amounts of energy and carbon.
“By working in partnership with the industry and striving to be Planet Passionate in everything we do, we are confident we can achieve the goals we have set our business and enable ourselves and our customers to contribute to the global fight against climate change.”
