When architects and designers evaluate sustainable building materials, the conversation often focuses on recycled content, embodied carbon, or Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). But one of the biggest contributors to a product’s environmental footprint is often overlooked: The electricity used to manufacture it.
Why Ontario Manufacturing Reduces Carbon Emissions
At Maxxit, our architectural ceiling and wall systems are manufactured in Ontario, Canada—home to one of North America’s cleanest electricity grids. Unlike many manufacturing regions that still rely heavily on coal or natural gas, Ontario generates the vast majority of its electricity from low-carbon sources, including nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and solar. The result is a significantly lower carbon footprint from the moment our products begin production.
4 Facts About Ontario’s Low-Carbon Electricity Grid
- More than 90% of Ontario’s electricity comes from non-emitting sources, making it one of the cleanest large-scale power grids in North America.
- Ontario eliminated coal-fired electricity generation in 2014, one of the largest greenhouse gas reduction initiatives on the continent.
- Clean electricity directly reduces the emissions associated with manufacturing, making where a product is made just as important as what it’s made from.
- Every specification has an impact. Selecting products manufactured using low-carbon electricity can help reduce the embodied carbon of the built environment.
How Low-Carbon Manufacturing Supports Sustainable Building Design
For Maxxit, this clean energy advantage has played an important role in achieving our ISO 14068 Carbon Neutral by Design™ certification. Combined with efficient manufacturing, products engineered to reduce waste, high recycled-content materials, and transparent Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), we’re reducing emissions at the source while helping architects and designers make more informed material choices.
Choosing Lower-Carbon Building Products Starts at the Source
The next time you evaluate a building product, don’t just ask what it’s made of, but ask where it’s made. Because sometimes the most sustainable design decision begins long before a product reaches the job site.
