2021 Owens Corning Sustainability Report | Our Approach | UN SDG Alignment | 50 SDG Target 17.17 | Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships. As part of our work to combat climate change and advance sustainability, we increasingly engage with external parties with which we can leverage our expertise and our products. We have partnered with a wide range of trade organizations to expand our reach to consumers and industry professionals, providing us with a platform through which we can promote energy efficiency, renewable energy practices, and other best practices in corporate responsibility. We participate at the board level in many strategically relevant organizations, such as the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET), Building Performance Institute (BPI), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and Energy & Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA). Owens Corning employees also participate on committees and working groups in these organizations. As we support regulations aimed at the elimination of GHG emissions, we engage extensively with relevant policymakers. Our government affairs team coordinates these efforts and ensures that activities are aligned with our climate change policy. Our corporate affairs and sustainability departments regularly review proposed communications and activities. Owens Corning also actively partners with organizations that drive forward-thinking programs on a range of topics, including advanced standards for energy efficiency and the durability of buildings. This includes our membership in the Carbon Leadership Forum. One key partnership is Owens Corning’s participation in the ZEBRA (Zero WastE Blade ReseArch) project in Europe, a cross-sector consortium launched in 2020 to develop the first 100% recyclable wind turbine blade. A number of products have been manufactured with input from our Chambéry wind lab, including a new thermoplastic resin. In addition, testing is ongoing to identify resin-matrix interface properties that will deliver the optimal solution for our customers. Owens Corning has also been invited to participate and is engaging with another ongoing European consortium focused on deconstructing and recycling first generation wind turbine blades. These blades use thermoset resins which by design are more difficult to deconstruct and recycle. Owens Corning will be exploring options to rejuvenate recovered glass fibers from these processes or remelt in our production facilities which effectively converts unusable glass to new glass made from recycled content. The Better Plants Program, part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Initiative, is composed of over 250 companies that have adopted ambitious goals to conserve energy, reduce water usage, and cut waste. As the DOE seeks to significantly advance energy efficiency in commercial and industrial buildings across the country, they have created the Better Buildings Challenge, as well as its industrial counterpart, the Better Plants Challenge. Owens Corning was one of four companies to sign on to the Better Plants Challenge in 2020. Challenge partners join other industry and community leaders to create and share real solutions that reduce energy consumption, create jobs, and save money. The Challenge requires an additional commitment from partners to share their corporate data, solutions, and successes in the form of showcase projects and implementation models to help guide other industrial companies with implementing real-world energy solutions in their facilities. In return, partners gain enhanced recognition from the Department of Energy. Our Challenge Partner targets are as follows: ■ 28% energy efficiency improvement by 2030. ■ 15% water withdrawal intensity improvement by 2030. ■ Zero waste-to-landfill by 2030. To ensure uniformity with reporting, we will be using 2018 as our baseline for these targets. According to the Department of Energy, partners in this initiative have together saved more than $8 billion in cumulative energy costs and 1.7 quadrillion British thermal units (BTUs) since the program began. More information about these targets and their relevance to our overall sustainability goals can be found in their related chapters. THE BETTER PLANTS CHALLENGE Photo submitted by: Claudia Cantu | Houston, Texas, U.S. Darrell Flanagan, an operator at the Houston Roofing plant.