Our Planet

Carbon Footprint: Our Journey to Reduce Community Carbon

According to Architecture 2030, an estimated 39% of global carbon emissions come from the built environment. More than a quarter of those emissions are a result of building operations and roughly 11% are a result of the materials used to construct the building, also known as embodied carbon.
At GAF, we approach mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon in three ways:

1. Addressing the embodied carbon in our products
2. Developing products that help reduce or avoid the operating carbon emissions within the existing and future built environment
3. Innovating new ways to take carbon out of communities

We consider these three efforts a full lifecycle approach to reducing carbon emissions in communities and our Community Carbon reduction initiative.

Reducing carbon emissions should be an environmental priority for every company in the building and construction industry. At GAF, we are committed to reducing the carbon footprint across our product portfolio through manufacturing and operations efforts.

Our carbon footprint in 2021 was 416,520 tCO2e. This is equivalent to the annual emissions from 90,000 gas-powered passenger vehicles or the electricity use of 81,000 homes. This serves as our baseline and is how we will be identifying and setting carbon reduction goals moving forward.

By reducing the carbon emissions associated with our own products, we in turn can reduce the total emissions in the built environment. Our recycled asphalt shingles and GAF Energy’s Timberline Solar shingles are examples of how we are using our products to make progress.

Additionally, our roof insulation product has a significant role in improving energy efficiency in buildings and ultimately reducing the GHG emissions through a building’s operations. Research by PIMA in 2022 indicates that roof replacements offer cost-effective ways to reduce energy use and the carbon footprint to buildings across the five USEPA designated climate zones.

Lastly, GAF launched an initiative called GAF Cool Community which focuses on reducing urban heat which subsequently reduces and avoids GHG emissions in communities by introducing cool roof and pavement technologies. This initiative is an example of how our investments in innovative approaches will help reduce the community carbon footprint. For more information about the GAF Cool Community Project click here.