Saint-Gobain Canada Unveils CarbonLow™, New Gypsum Wallboard Line with up to 60% Less Embodied Carbon

Saint-Gobain, through its building products subsidiary CertainTeed Canada Inc., today unveiled CarbonLow™, a new line of low-carbon gypsum wallboard to be sold in Canada starting in 2025. With up to 60% less embodied carbon cradle-to-gate than traditional alternatives, CarbonLow™ will allow contractors and homeowners to utilize the quality CertainTeed solutions they trust, while reducing their environmental footprint.

Announced by Saint-Gobain Canada CEO Julie Bonamy at CertainTeed Canada’s annual Architecture Symposium, the CarbonLow™ wallboard will be the first of its kind for Saint-Gobain in North America. The new product line is set to be manufactured at CertainTeed’s gypsum facility in Ville de Sainte-Catherine, Quebec, which will soon be North America’s first zero-carbon (scopes 1 and 2) gypsum wallboard facility and the largest in the world. CertainTeed is working to update equipment and transition the plant away from fossil fuels to being powered completely by hydro-electricity from Hydro-Quebec.

“CarbonLow™ represents not only a new, high quality product line for our customers but a fulfillment of our promise to provide solutions for the decarbonization of the built environment,” said Julie Bonamy, CEO of Saint-Gobain Canada. “Over the past three years, we have made significant investments to grow our business here in Canada, and today’s announcement is further evidence of our commitment to offering sustainable solutions for our stakeholders throughout the country.”

The CarbonLow™ range of products includes Easi-Lite®, Type X, M2Tech®, and GlasRoc® family of products, which represents a complete portfolio of essential interior and exterior gypsum cladded solutions for commercial, institutional, residential, healthcare and industrial segments. The lower embodied carbon wallboard will offer new solutions to architects to achieve building decarbonization in their designs, while requiring no change to standard installation procedures for contractors. To learn more about CarbonLow™ visit www.carbonlowgypsum.ca.

Today’s announcement comes as Saint-Gobain continues its commitment to growth and sustainable construction solutions in Canada:

• In June, Saint-Gobain completed the acquisition of The Bailey Group of Companies, a leading manufacturer of metal framing building solutions in Canada. This acquisition is the company’s third in Canada in three years after Kaycan (2022) and Building Products of Canada (2023), tripling its presence in the country. Along with CertainTeed, Saint-Gobain Canada now offers a full portfolio of building solutions, both interior and exterior, in Canada.
• In May, Saint-Gobain announced a partnership with TimberHP, offering high-performance wood fiber insulation in North America as the exclusive distribution partner in Canada.
• In February, the company completed the installation of a heat recovery system at its gypsum wallboard plant outside Vancouver, reducing scope 1 carbon emissions by up to 15%.
• In 2023, Saint-Gobain celebrated over 1 million tonnes of gypsum wallboard recycled and returned to production at its facility in Vancouver. The company operates similar recycling operations in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

With over 160 manufacturing locations in Canada and the United States, every current and future member of the company’s team plays a vital role in achieving its sustainability goals. A current list of job openings at all Saint-Gobain locations can be found on the company’s careers website.     

About CertainTeed

With innovative building solutions made possible through its comprehensive offering of interior and exterior products, CertainTeed is transforming how the industry builds. As leaders in building science and sustainable construction, CertainTeed makes it easier than ever to create high-performance, energy-efficient places to live, work and play, so that together we can make the world a better home. 

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the world's largest and oldest building products companies, CertainTeed has more than 6,900 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout Canada and the United States. www.certainteed.ca

About Saint-Gobain

Worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets. Its integrated solutions for the renovation of public and private buildings, light construction and the decarbonization of construction and industry are developed through a continuous innovation process and provide sustainability and performance. The Group’s commitment is guided by its purpose, “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME”.

€47.9 billion in sales in 2023 
160,000 employees, locations in 76 countries 
Committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050