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How we make it greener Cascadia Universal Series™ Window Wall

Raw materials acquisition

Cascadia's windows and doors are designed and manufactured in North America, using resins and fiberglass rovings from domestic and foreign suppliers. These chemically inert materials are combined through pultrusion, creating a thermoset fiberglass that won't creep, sag, or decay over its 80-year modelled service life. Cascadia's pultruded, thermoset fiberglass frames also contain roughly 58% recycled content.

Manufacturing

Efficiencies in manufacturing help Cascadia minimize their environmental impacts. Incoming fiberglass pultrusions are painted on an automatic paint line, cutting down on waste that would otherwise be generated using a manual process.

Distribution

Cascadia works with project stakeholders to optimize shipping and transportation methods, using a variety of shipping materials depending on project requirements, including reusable steel racks or custom-made reusable wood crates. The steel racks are returned to Cascadia via a return program and reused many times over several years and are used for about two thirds of all shipments, cutting down the need for one-time-use packaging.

Use & end of life

With a modeled lifespan of up to 80 years, fiberglass windows are expected to consume less energy over their lifetime compared to aluminum and vinyl.

Fiberglass windows and doors are able to resist issues common with other materials like corrosion, rot, insect damage, or UV degradation. While windows and doors of all material types are commonly sent to the landfill, whether due to glazing tape contamination or wear and tear, the durability of fiberglass helps extend the longevity of these products, which means fewer replacements over the life of the building and ultimately fewer trips to the landfill.