PFBSustainability.com - Environmental Data

PFB expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam products contain a small amount of HBCD (hexabromocyclododecane), a brominated flame retardant. HBCD is an organic substance that acts as combustion modifier to inhibit the ignition of combustible organic materials. HBCD is used in expanded polystyrene foam in order to meet strict building code fire performance requirements.

At PFB Corporation, we are concerned with the future of the planet and the effects that modern life styles may be having on climate change. PFB Corporation is commited to conducting our operations responsibly, mindful of the economic, environmental and social impacts of our operations. We have always placed environmental protection at the highest level of importance in our products, our processes and our practices. It is our intention to focus on improving our performance related to conversion of inputs, such as materials, energy, and water; into outputs, such as products, emissions, effluents and waste through a process of continuous improvement.

In this report we present our initial baseline performance from measurements recorded in 2006 and 2007. We plan to expand disclosure over time and measure our efforts against this baseline to be accountable for improvement in future reports.

Green House Gas (GHG) – greenhouse gases are those gases which contribute to global warming. According to the Kyoto protocol significant greenhouse gases, emitted by human activity, include carbon dioxide (C02), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N20), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

Ozone Depleting Substance (ODS) – A chemical compound that reaches the stratosphere and is capable of reacting with stratospheric ozone causing it to be depleted. Stratospheric ozone protects the earth from harmful UV radiation. PFB does not emit harmful ozone depleting substances from our manufacturing processes.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) – any organic compound that can become vaporized under normal atmospheric conditions. VOC can contribute to the creation of ground level smog around urban centers. PFB releases VOC’s as part of our foam insulation production processes and we are sensitive to this issue and are actively working towards reductions in the amount of VOC’s we emit.

Sustainability Through Action | GHG Emissions vs. Savings Potential | PFB Emissions Compared to Customers Emission Savings |

Direct Energy | Waste Management | Water Usage | PFB Emissions per unit of Product Output | Raw Material Usage per unit of Product Output

Sustainability Through Actions

Waste
Waste is a significant issue for manufacturers like PFB, both from a cost perspective and its environmental impact. PFB is continually looking for ways to eliminate waste by reusing and recycling. Total waste to landfill was reduced significantly in 2010. This was achieved by introducing products that support in-process waste recycling, by diverting scrap materials to alternate recycling streams and by improving production yields.

Energy
Total electricity and natural gas consumption in our operations remained relatively unchanged in 2010 over the previous year. During 2010, operations were able to maintain energy efficiency levels by aligning energy consumption to production levels. PFB will continue conducting energy audits and identifying ways of improving the efficiency of its operations, equipment, and buildings.

Emissions
Our focus has always been to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by using fossil fuels more efficiently.
PFB has an ongoing initiative underway to substitute raw material inputs with materials that contain less VOC expanding agent. In 2008, 7% of raw materials consumed contained reduced levels of VOCs. In 2009, we further increased usage of low VOC materials to 26%. In 2010, we successfully increased the usage of low VOC alternatives to 59% of the total input. These changes resulted in a significant reduction in VOC emissions per unit output.

Carbon dioxide, the principal green house gas (GHG) emitted, arises from burning natural gas and other fuels in our production operations. We calculate and report GHG emissions in metric tonnes.

Our insulating products provide customers with the means to reduce their energy consumption and, consequently, their GHG emissions. In 2010, PFB emitted 9,068 metric tonnes of CO₂ equivalents from its operations. The estimated GHG reductions that could be achieved if all of the EPS insulation products made by PFB in 2010 were applied to exterior walls of single family residential housing in USA/Canada would be 58,161 metric tonnes. A ratio of 6 to 1. Through improvements in the energy-efficiency of our processes we intend to focus on reducing our GHG emissions to further improve the net benefits provided by our products.

*Estimated GHG emissions reductions potential due to the installation of PFB foam insulation products sold during the reporting year - estimates based on data in “Energy and Greenhouse Gas Savings for EPS Foam Insulation Applied to Exterior Walls of Single Family Residential Housing In The U.S. and Canada”, Franklin Associates Ltd. February 2009. GHG savings based on reduction in heating when insulation installed as per assumptions in the Franklin report. Note that other insulation materials will provide equivalent reduction in energy and GHG savings if installed to the same level of thermal performance.

The energy savings potential from using PFB’s insulating products over the minimum expected lifetime of those products (assumed to be 50 years) exceeds the amount of energy consumed in the manufacturing process by a ratio of approximately 120:1.

*Estimated energy savings due to the installation of PFB foam insulation products per unit mass. Estimates based on data in “Energy and Greenhouse Gas Savings for EPS Foam Insulation Applied to Exterior Walls of Single Family Residential Housing In The U.S. and Canada”, Franklin Associates Ltd. February 2009. Energy savings based on reduction in heating when insulation installed as per assumptions in the Franklin report. Note that other insulation materials will provide equivalent reduction in energy and GHG savings if installed to the same level of thermal performance.

** Direct production energy includes embodied energy in raw materials as per “Energy and Environmental Profile of the US Chemical Industry”, May 2000 by Energetics Inc. for US Department of Energy.

We measure and monitor the total amount of electricity and natural gas consumed by our operations.

Energy usage in 2010 increased marginally over the previous year. Production output in 2010 was comparable to 2009; however, we experienced an increase in electricity consumption. PFB will continue to monitor its energy consumption to identify potential efficiency improvements and energy reduction projects. A number of projects are planned in 2011 focussed on reducing electricity consumption in our manufacturing facilities.

Waste per unit output improved considerably in 2010 over previous years due to increased efforts to recycle in-process waste materials. At our location in Crossfield, Alberta, we installed equipment which facilitated recycling in-process foam waste into saleable polystyrene. Efforts will continue in 2011 to identify more sustainable methods for reducing waste in our production streams.

Our operations consumed less water in 2010 over the previous year. This was due to equipment and process improvements in one of our facilities. Installation of new equipment allowed us to reuse cooling water multiple times and thus reduce overall raw water consumption. Efforts will continue in 2011 on identifying further ways of reducing raw water consumption through elimination and reuse.

The key emissions that we track are GHG’s, VOCs, NOx and SOx. We monitor the ratio of tonnes emitted as a ratio of tonnes of EPS foam produced. Reductions in the ratios indicate better performance.

Reduction in emissions per unit of foam products produced continued in 2010 as efforts to introduce raw materials with lower VOC content continued. PFB’s long term plan is to continue converting products and manufacturing processes to use lower VOC raw materials to reduce our impact on the environment.

Note – in 2010 the calculation method was changed to allow us to monitor and quantify the reuse of in-process waste. The new calculation method has been applied to all historical data indicated in the chart. This new calculation method provides a more relevant measurement of raw material usage, process yield and reuse of in-process waste.

We measure inputs of raw materials as a ratio of product output to tell us how well we are doing in the conversion process. For EPS foam, we measure inputs and outputs in tonnes and a lower conversion ratio indicates higher levels of recycling. For structural insulating panels, we measure inputs of oriented strand board (OSB) and outputs of panels in m². A lower conversion ratio indicates an improvement in yield.