WICONA and Saint-Gobain Glass join forces to lead the market towards low-carbon façades.

WICONA and Saint-Gobain Glass are joining forces to drive decarbonisation by helping the building industry design sustainable façades that have circularity built in. The two companies are leading the way through the use of low embodied carbon products thanks to a high percentage of recycled materials: specifically, WICONA aluminium façade products manufactured from Hydro CIRCAL 75R and the Saint-Gobain Glass ORAÉ® glass substrate.

Hydro CIRCAL® 75R, first launched in 2019, is a prime quality aluminium made with a minimum of 75% recycled post-consumer scrap aluminium. Hydro CIRCAL 75R has a carbon footprint among the lowest in the world: 2.3 kg CO2 per kilo of aluminium.

ORAÉ® is a new glass substrate with the world’s first lowest carbon footprint. According to its EPD, ORAÉ® has a verified carbon footprint value of 6.64kg CO2 equivalent per square metre (for a 4mm substrate), a reduction of 42% compared to the Saint-Gobain Glass European baseline clear glass. This has been achieved through the use of renewable electricity and a recycled content of 64%.

With a shared dedication to sustainable development, Saint-Gobain Glass and WICONA are committed to helping developers and specifiers create more sustainable, lower embodied carbon buildings. Buildings are currently responsible for 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

According to a life cycle assessment study of façades, it is estimated that the embodied carbon of the building façade could be reduced by up to half by combining façade systems made from Hydro CIRCAL® 75R glazed with ORAÉ® products, such as the COOL-LITE® XTREME ORAÉ® solar control glass.