Minimize Embodied Carbon Footprint During Production and Transportation

From its earliest start, the manufacturing sector has had a long history of focusing more on production and profit than environmental impacts. The environmental movement gained social support in the 1960s, and for the past 50 years, regulations and standards have shifted to better protect the environment. Yet many of those shifts focused primarily on waste disposal and banning chemicals, all of which were very important improvements and critical steps toward a better environment. But for the past decade, the perspective has shifted to more closely examine broader ways that industry impacts the environment. This concern moves beyond just material input, output, and potential waste and now includes the environmental impact of a product’s life cycle— from inception, through engineering design and manufacturing, and to service and disposal of the manufactured product—and includes elements critical to the manufacturing process, such as material and product transportation and greenhouse gas production.

In short, businesses have started to look at ways to minimize the overall embodied carbon footprint during both production and transportation. Embodied carbon refers to the carbon footprint, or how many greenhouse gases (GHGs) are released through the entire supply chain of constructing the building, producing the car, or manufacturing the laptop. As a result, embodied carbon calculations require an understanding of all of the materials, or ingredients, within a product, and all activities related to those materials, such as processing and transport.

For some companies, the concept of sustainable manufacturing still may seem like a daunting capital investment that isn’t worth the effort. But others have found that such a shift can lower the cost of the business, often with relatively short payback periods, depending on the initial investment. For example, solar power can help a company become energy independent. Waste reduction and water reuse can both cut expenses. Or, on a more basic level, there are new technologies that help regulate energy consumption overall, which may then lead to more sustainable practices down the road.

Reducing Waste

Recycling in the United States has become increasingly popular, with a shift from transporting waste to landfills. The shift to recycling was also in part due to an agreement with China, which adopted a global practice paired with its shipping export policies: rather than take empty shipping containers back to China, the country accepted the world’s recyclable waste on the return voyage and would process it for profit.

However, in February 2018, the Chinese government instituted a program that set stricter standards for contamination levels common in waste materials. The goal was in part to help improve the quality—and thus recyclability—of what is imported and protect its citizens, who were processing the materials. The program bans 24 types of waste materials, including different types of plastics (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate [PET], polyvinyl chloride [PVC], polystyrene or Styrofoam [PS], and certain types of paper). The standard aims to ensure that whatever is shipped is as pure as possible.

As an example of what this means on a global scale, China processes 55 percent of the world’s scrap paper, and it has been the leading site for other recyclable materials. Since the policy began, the amount of scrap plastic imported to China has decreased significantly, from 3.5 million metric tons in 2017 to 21,300 metric tons in mid-2018.¹

So, what does this mean for manufacturers and architectural firms? While the impact of this new policy is still being understood, common sense says that if a corporation or architectural firm has been relying on recycling, it can benefit from shifting its focus to the “reduce” portion of the “reduce, reuse, recycle” chain. By designing manufacturing processes and products that reduce waste, a big part of the recycling issue goes away. The American Coatings Association (ACA), for example, has implemented the PaintCare paint product stewardship program, which facilitates the reduction, recovery, reuse, and recycling of leftover architectural coatings. Among the many benefits, the program helps encourage consumers to buy the right amount of paint to reduce waste; collects, transports, and processes post-consumer paint; and offers convenient leftover paint drop-off locations. All of these activities encourage the reduce, reuse, recycle hierarchy and can minimize waste.

Supporting the Local Environment

Many companies now include sustainability strategies as part of their practice, and in some cases, taking care of the local environment and facility may be a deliberate business decision. For some companies, environmental protection has been a long-standing practice. Depending on the industry, practices such as measuring water usage, energy consumption, and CO₂ help influence future green practices, such as reusing wastewater or relying on renewable energy sources.

Other strategies include increased recycling and aiming to minimize how much waste goes into landfills. This tactic is closely linked to reducing CO₂ emissions as well; shipping waste to landfills requires transportation costs, and thus CO₂ emissions.

Engaging in Sustainable Practices from the Start

As we have seen, manufacturing companies can do many different things to engage in sustainable, green design. For example, companies can commit to buying clean energy, engage in ingredient and process transparency, partner with non-government organizations (NGOs) and other environmental organizations to protect the local ecosystem, or share information with investors about why sustainable and environmentally beneficial practice makes good business sense. Let’s take a closer look at how one company has successfully taken on sustainable practices.

CASE STUDY: LEADING INDUSTRY MANUFACTURER’S SUSTAINABLE FACILITY

In 1992, a leading industry manufacturer took the message of sustainability to heart when it purchased a roughly 80,000-square-foot building situated on 90 acres of land outside of a major city. The site, which is nestled within farmland and other small manufacturing sites, had for the previous four years been a research and development site for a computer manufacturer. The existing facility provided the backbone for what would soon become a state-of-the-art research and development center that would keep sustainability as a core concept.

Designed by the architectural firm of Adler, Goodman, and Kalish of Great Neck, Long Island, the facility renovation was designed to keep the company ahead of the curve, from R&D to corporate training. One key feature includes an outdoor paint “test farm” where paints are exposed to year-round weather conditions and evaluated for performance.

Over the past 25 years, the facility has continued to thrive and become a literal bright spot in this part of the region. The paint test farm, which sits on 5 acres of land, houses more than 25,000 painted test boards at any given time and looks like a field of perfectly arranged rows of colorful tiles.

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore & Co.

Benjamin Moore’s Flanders R&D facility’s paint test farm sits on 5 acres.

The site now includes 10 research and development laboratories, with each lab focusing on different areas of expertise. Some labs evaluate color standards, while others specialize in enhancing high-performing contractor and consumer paints as well as industrial coatings. The R&D labs employ more than 100 chemists, chemical engineers, technicians, and support staff, all of whom work to ensure that the paint formulations are best in class.

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore & Co.

A Benjamin Moore chemist is at work in the lab.

This manufacturer’s research and development facility host a 1.7-megawatt solar array for its local energy provider. The company purchases the electricity generated by the system under a 20-year power purchase agreement. Installed in 2010, the solar array is one of the largest ground-mounted, on-site behind the meter solar power systems in the state of New Jersey. The system generates more than 2.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually and provides about 70 percent of the facility’s annual electricity needs.

The goal of incorporating renewable energy into site operations was to allow research and development work to impact the environment as little as possible, all while benefitting from having the extra energy produced go into the larger grid. Moreover, the project required close work with both state and community authorities to ensure that the installation also improved the local physical environment. In this case, that meant meeting–and amending –the open space and water drainage requirements set by the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act of 2004. The system design was adjusted to shift more than the proposed 1,500 photovoltaic panels from an open field on the property to a newly installed roof structure over the facility’s parking lot. By making this shift, the adjusted design preserved open space on the land, all while providing shade for parked vehicles.

The manufacturer facilities are spread across North America and occupy hundreds of acres. Their employees care about the wildlife that call the sites home, and they work to protect the wildlife and preserve their habitats. One way the manufacturer does this is by working with the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), a nonprofit group of corporations, conservation organizations, and individuals dedicated to restoring and enhancing wildlife habitats. Two sites have earned Conservation Certification from the WHC.

The Wildlife Habitat Council is a nonprofit group of corporations, conservation organizations, and individuals dedicated to restoring and enhancing wildlife habitats. WHC’s Conservation Certification Program recognizes commendable wildlife habitat management and education programs on individual sites, and awards certification based on a tiered level of Certified, Certified Silver, and Certified Gold.

The company first partnered with WHC in 1993, and one site has maintained WHC certification since 2005. The wildlife teams at their two certified sites manage a total of 67 acres by providing habitat for native birds and pollinators and removing invasive species.

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore & Co.

A wood duck hen and a drake sit atop a nest box.

In addition to environmental stewardship, company employees at both sites host events for the local community. For example, at the R&D facility, employees plant pollinator gardens, build birdhouses, and organize clean-up days of the physical area. Employees help educate local school children about the importance of nature and have been constructing a butterfly/hummingbird garden and revitalized existing Purple Martin birdhouses. On October 31, 2018, one site was re-certified to the Silver WHC level.