A Product Solution for Green Architecture and Sustainable Building Design

Construction of a building shouldn’t be synonymous with the destruction of a planet. In the past, building material products sometimes violated this common sense imperative. Not by desire, of course, but by lack of knowledge and technology. That has begun to change. In recent years, manufacturers have been challenged, no…mandated, to make the manufacturing process more environmentally-friendly, specifically regarding products such as insulation and roofing materials, and to address making products more “green” and longer-lasting.

THE LEADER IN THE INDUSTRY…AGAIN!!!

Atlas® Roofing Corporation, always the innovator in promoting advancements in roofing and insulation products, was the first company to research, develop, and introduce this new generation of environmentally-friendly CFC- and HCFC-free polyiso insulation products, with ACUltra™ technology inside.

Creating a “green” building, in effect, means matching the products and materials to the specific design and site to minimize the overall environmental impact. Building green has been associated with higher “first costs” versus savings on the “life cycle” maintenance costs. But today building green is a good long-term investment that doesn’t have to cost more than traditional building materials. And nowhere is that more evident than in polyiso insulation materials.

These are just a few of the reasons designers, owners and contractors are specifying ACFoam products with ACUltra technology inside.

LEED from US Green
Building Council

The US Green Building Council announced the first standard for Green buildings. LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, represents the construction industry’s definition for what constitutes a "green" building.

FOUR LEVELS OF GREEN:

1. Platinum
2. Silver
3. Gold
4. Bronze

LEED requires building owners to accumulate credits for any number of design strategies. Credits or points are earned for successful accomplishments of the measures, and a minimum achievement of 50% of the available points is required to achieve a green building rating. There are various levels of rating that can be achieved.

The new generation of Atlas ACUltra™ Technology (HCFC-free) polyiso products meets the requirements for the LEED program, and for the first time polyiso is indisputably considered a green product. The Environmental Building News’ “GreenSpec,” also classifies HCFC-free polyiso as a green building product. The elevation of polyiso to “green” status is possible because of Atlas’ leadership in removing ozone depleting chemicals from their products Atlas again set a new industry standard by leading the way in research and development to produce environmentally friendly building products.

Atlas ACUltra™ Technology meets the requirements for the LEED program. This program identifies major environmental goals including:

• Planning sustainable sites
• Improving energy efficiency
• Conserving materials and resources
• Enhancing IAQ (Interior Air Quality)
• Protecting the Atmosphere

Elimination of Harmful Ozone Depleting Chemicals

Reversal of ozone depletion has long been an Atlas priority, as demonstrated back in 1992 when Atlas led the industry as the first manufacturer to convert polyiso foam blowing agents from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC’s) to less-harmful hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC’s), and was the first polyiso manufacturer to introduce in 1998 a HCFC-free technology, shifting its blowing agent from HCFC 141b to a hydrocarbon (HC) blowing agent.

So significant was this breakthrough to the industry and to the environment, that Atlas has been awarded the extremely prestigious U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s coveted 1998 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award. Atlas worked well ahead of EPA requirements and beat the Montreal Protocol requirements by a full 5 years. (The Montreal Protocol bans the production and importation of HCFC 141b by the end of 2002). Atlas Roofing Corporation is the ONLY North American polyiso producer with multiple years of proven hydrocarbon manufacturing technology… ACUltra™ Technology.

Polyiso Insulation Solutions That We Can All Live With.

Although polyiso has often been considered “green,” since it reduces fossil fuel consumption by reducing energy demand, the presence of CFC and HCFC blowing agents in polyiso foam products has sometimes precluded their classification as a truly “green” building product. Now all doubts have been removed with the development and introduction of ACUltra™ Technology, which is available in all Atlas polyiso foam roofing and sheathing insulation products, including:

• Energy Shield®
• Rboard®
• Stucco-Shield®
• Tapered ACFoam®
• ACFoam® Nail Base
• CrossVent
• Gemini™ Pre-Cut Crickets

Atlas Firsts...

Atlas has set the standard in the roofing industry for nearly two decades, being the:

• First to develop ACUltra™ Technology for “Green Building”
• First to convert from CFC to HCFC
• First to offer R-Value warranty on polyiso products
• First to develop the universal Glass Reinforced Facer (GRF)
• First to develop the Coated Glass Facer (CGF)