Operations

Since 1993, we have been committed to an operating philosophy of Corporate Stewardship, operating our manufacturing plants in a manner that helps protect the environment, safety and health of our employees and neighbors. We ask our employees around the world to be committed to safeguarding, sustaining and improving the environment for the benefit of current and future generations.

We understand the environmental impact of our manufacturing facilities, beginning with the processing of raw materials through the consumption of resources during production and the resulting emissions. Our processes continue to have opportunities for improvement. We are investing in the development of innovations that drive step-change progress in our company and minimize environmental, health and safety issues at the source. We also invest in capital improvements and in our employee engagement for continuous improvement.

Highly engaged team members are critical to our success. One way we measure engagement is through our Core Assessment Program. Our Core Assessment Program, an internal assessment process that measures how our facilities are doing compared to Owens Corning standards and world-class practices. Information is gathered at approximately 20 facilities annually through confidential focus group sessions, at all levels and departments, and through observations. We use the results to guide continuous improvement of our operations.

Owens Corning’s Code of Business Conduct and Corporate Governance policies are designed to educate all employees on how to conduct business ethically and comply with all laws. They are incorporated into the way all employees work every day, with customers, colleagues, suppliers and the public. They are key to the success of our company. Our policies are organized around our values. These policies support our commitment to safety, to the fair and equitable treatment for all employees and to our efforts at minimizing our impact on the environment. They set expectations around respecting ourselves, our colleagues, our communities and the global environment. All staff employees globally are required to go through training on an annual basis to review and certify compliance. The policies can be found at Owens Corning Corporate Code of Business Conduct Policy.

The recent global economic downturn has added complexities to our efforts in greening our operations. Much of our footprint intensity reduction is hindered by lower than normal capacity utilization. Our employees and the communities where they live and work are also affected by reductions in our operations. We will continue to minimize the impact of this on our operations and people, and are committed to the 2012 reduction goals we have set.

In 2008, Owens Corning reduced its injury rate by 37 percent, had no fatalities and had no significant environmental actions. We define a significant environmental action as an enforcement action in which the cost of fines, penalties or corrective actions equal or exceed $100,000 U.S.

In our 2007 Sustainability Progress Report, we communicated one of the ways we are ensuring we have no significant environmental actions is to implement an environmental management system. A number of our facilities worldwide are operating within an ISO 14001 environmental management system or have major components of a system implemented.