ST. LOUIS, March 21, 2011 – As part of an ongoing commitment to sustainability, responsible use of natural resources and the reduction of its carbon footprint, the Performance Films division of Solutia Inc. (NYSE: SOA) is pleased to announce completion of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) by Harmony Environmental, LLC, and review by an independent third party. The results from the recently completed study conclude that Solutia's Performance Films division delivers a positive impact to the environment.
The assessment, consistent with International Standards Organization (ISO) standards, was completed at the end of 2010 and concluded that the division's solar-control architectural window film products become carbon neutral in less than two months after installation. With an average service life of 15 years, this means that these products are typically providing 14- plus years of greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions after accounting for the products' total carbon footprint.
"The analysis demonstrates that we're reducing energy consumption while increasing the avoidance of carbon emissions," noted Wing Kwang, global business director for LLumar films. "We not only offer exceptional energy efficient film products, we're also measuring and improving our energy responsibility and environmental impact through integrated processes at every level of manufacturing and product development."
Performance Films currently has 54 architectural solar-control film products in its LLumar® and Vista™ brand portfolios, including the game-changing EnerLogic™ Series window films, with advanced low-e technology that can improve the insulation performance of singlepane windows to dual-pane and dual-pane to triple-pane while delivering industry-leading, all-season energy savings.
"Upgrading current windows with Vista or LLumar architectural films produces less than 1 pound of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e) per square foot," adds Lisa Winckler, vice president of technology for Solutia's Performance Films division. "That amount is 70 to 115 times less than the carbon footprint of replacing current windows with new vinyl or wood framed low-e windows."
A Life Cycle Assessment is a "cradle-to-grave" approach for assessing industrial systems, evaluating all stages of a product's life and thus enabling one to estimate cumulative environmental impacts, including impacts not considered in more traditional analyses (e.g., raw material extraction, material transportation, ultimate product disposal, etc.). Companies have found it beneficial to move beyond just environmental compliance, using LCA to provide a comprehensive view of the environmental impacts of their products and processes.
Specifically, the study reviewed the impact of the use of architectural window films on the company's carbon footprint and determined whether the potential energy savings and subsequent avoided GHG emissions from the use of architectural window film offset the energy use and GHG emissions from the manufacturing of the division's products.
"At Performance Films, we are focused on impacting both ends of the carbon footprint equation," Winckler continued. "Harmony Environmental's Life Cycle Assessment provided an evaluation of our manufacturing processes that will further enable our division to reduce energy consumption, reduce our impact on the environment and, ultimately, improve our customers' carbon footprints."
The study concluded that Performance Films' architectural window films deliver a positive impact for the environment, including savings in energy and avoidance of solid wastes and GHG emissions. "These results are even more impressive considering that the savings from only the architectural window films produced in 2009 erased the entire division's 2009 footprint in seven months," Winckler said.
"The completion of this LCA report is just one part of Solutia's commitment to environmental responsibility, which includes a comprehensive, companywide effort to reduce our global impact," noted Yancy Farrow, Solutia's director of energy management. "Solutia is an active participant in the U.S. Department of Energy's Save Energy Now LEADER program and Solutia's Performance Films division is also an EPA/DOE ENERGY STAR® Partner, promoting the benefits of ENERGY STAR and related tools."
To learn more about Solutia and its commitments, please visit www.solutia.com. For additional information on the Performance Films Life Cycle Assessment, please see www.Vista-films.com/LCA-whitepaper.
