323

Million KWh's

CRH helped avoid 1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2020, equivalent to taking 217,480 passenger cars off the road for one year

50.75%

Increase

46% of CRH’s 2020 revenue (p. 5) came from sustainable products

16.26%

Reduction

CRH donated $8.3 million (p. 5) to local organizations and initiatives in 2020

View Our Analysis

The Path to Drawdown: Grid Expansion

Construction and buildings account for 38% of the total global CO2 emissions and 35% of total energy use. Much of this energy-use in buildings is the result of heating and air-conditioning, lighting, information and communications systems, security and access systems, fire alarms, elevators, appliances, and indirectly through plumbing.

In most buildings, some of the energy used in heating and cooling the interior is wasted through windows. Windows, even when closed, are far less efficient than insulated walls at keeping room temperature in and outside temperature out - by a factor of ten or more.

High-performance glass solves this problem by replacing conventional plain glass. High-performance glass uses any of several technologies that can reduce heat flow through glass, including multiple layers, low-emissivity glass, tinted glass, and vacuum glazing.

High-performance glass is already widely adopted in wealthy countries. In the rest of the world, a faster and wider installation of high-performance glass can help reduce a substantial amount of GHG emissions by 2050:

  • <::marker> In 2018, 5 billion square meters of high-performance glass was installed in residential buildings, and 130 million sq. meters in commercial buildings
  • <::marker> By 2050, 13.7 billion sq meters should be installed in residential buildings and 7.5 billion sq meters in commercial buildings

If this scale can be achieved by 2050, high-performance glass can avoid 12.6 gigatons of emissions and save $3.9 trillion in energy costs over building lifetimes for an installation cost of $10.8 trillion.

What We Want to See Improve

Reduce Absolute Emissions

We are impressed by CRH’s sustainability targets and achievements so far. But until now, the company has focused on reducing their carbon emissions intensity (carbon emissions per ton of products). We want them to set even bolder targets by focusing on absolute reductions by the end of the decade.

Accelerate Low-Carbon Cement Development

We are very excited about CRH’s initiative to innovate lower-emission cement. As such, we want them to speed up their innovation so that they can achieve the promised 30-40% reduction in carbon emissions during the manufacturing process. Beyond using alternative fuel, alternative materials, carbon capture, storage and use, we encourage CRH to explore other decarbonization techniques like the electrification of kilns.

Push Suppliers to Reduce Emissions

CRH has a large number of suppliers (p. 102) across different geographic areas and industries. And we are encouraged by their Supplier Code of Conduct (p. 3) that sets out their expectation for suppliers to “support a proactive approach” to energy optimization, resource efficiency, waste management and recycling. But we want CRH to go a step further by using more specific language around these expectations. In particular, we want to see CRH to nudge suppliers to reduce their GHG emissions within a well-specified near-term time frame.

Related High-Performance Glass Stocks in the Climate Index

View All Climate Index Stocks →

Allocated Company Description

0.09%

PGT, Inc. (PGTI)

PGT makes impact-resistant windows and doors that can withstand the toughest weather conditions and improve building energy efficiency

0.09%

Tecnoglass (TGLS)

Tecnoglass makes architectural glass that saves energy from heating and cooling. Building energy efficiency is key for lowering emissions

0.07%

Apogee Enterprises (APOG)

Apogee makes custom high-performance glass that maximizes building insulation. High-performance windows are key in cutting emissions related to buildings

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