How Brent Trenga Of Kingspan Insulated Panels North America Is Helping to Promote Sustainability and Climate Justice
An Interview With Monica Sanders
You are who you surround yourself with. Surround yourself with like-minded, passionate, driven individuals to better yourself and keep yourself on the right path.
According to the University of Colorado, “Those who are most affected and have the fewest resources to adapt to climate change are also the least responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions — both globally and within the United States.” Promoting climate justice is an incredibly important environmental responsibility that is slowly becoming more and more recognized. In this interview series, we are talking to leaders who are helping to promote sustainability and climate justice. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Brent Trenga.
Brent has truly run the construction industry gamut, serving in various roles including architect, developer and even project owner, allowing him to fully understand the sustainability ecosystem. As sustainability director for Kingspan North America, Brent is committed to reducing the environmental impact of business operations, products and services through continuous improvement and environmental transparency.
Brent also leads Kingspan’s global Planet Passionate 2030 program looking after the Americas, supporting strategic planning for the business development group and providing insight on current and future sustainability initiatives that keep Kingspan at the forefront of the industry.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I grew up in eastern Pennsylvania in a very small town. New Hope, Pennsylvania, is about an hour outside of Philly, but it has a great history and a very eclectic personality. As a typical ’80s kid from that time, the moment I got home from school, I ran outside and did not come home until the sun went down or I was called in for dinner. Most of my childhood was spend riding ATVs, which then led me into racing professional motocross until I went to college. Outside of that, I played basketball, soccer and baseball; I loved to go fishing in the farm ponds around my house and just enjoyed being outside. I spent lots of time near the water and always found a way to get to the beach.
Everyone has a cataclysmic moment or marker in their life which propels them to take certain actions, a “why”. What is your why?
I co-founded a company called GreenWizard during the Great Recession. GreenWizard was a tech startup that developed the first database of sustainable building products. My position was multi-dimensional, allowing me to oversee the innovation of our product management software solution and ensure adherence to third-party accreditation standards and changes regarding Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Living Building Challenge, Architecture 2030, BREEAM, Green Globes and many others.
I first was introduced to Kingspan’s net zero energy initiatives while working with GreenWizard. Paul Bertram, a longtime friend in the industry, felt I would be a good fit at Kingspan. This led me to become the Director of Sustainability for the company in 2015.
I feel great passion for sustainability and working to make the world a better place — that’s my why.
You are currently leading an organization that is making a difference for our planet. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change?
As Director of Sustainability at Kingspan North America, I push forth Planet Passionate, Kingspan’s 10-year global sustainability plan. At Kingspan, through Planet Passionate, we are determined to reduce our manufacturing carbon (CO2e) emissions to as close to zero as technically possible, while halving carbon intensity in our primary supply chain. We have ambitious goals surrounding three global challenges: climate change, circularity and protection of the natural world.
My role at Kingspan is to strategize plans on how we can make positive impacts to our local and global environment. Our main goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of our business while making a positive environmental impact through our products. We are confident that our efforts can expedite the transition to a clean-energy, resource-efficient future.
Planet Passionate builds on the success of our Net Zero Energy program launched in 2011. With innovation and the latest developments in climate science, we are shifting our focus to absolute carbon reduction and the direct use of renewable energy. Through our measurable targets across four focus areas (carbon, energy, circularity and water), Kingspan has integrated those objectives into everything we do throughout our process — from ideations to the actual manufacturing process.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
About a year ago, things were looking good to win a very large electric vehicle car project from one of the major auto companies. At the last second, we found out a competitor had pulled the job away from us. I decided to toss a Hail Mary pass and try to connect with the auto company’s chief sustainability officer. I did not know him personally, so through my network, I got his email address. I drafted a short email explaining the alignment between Kingspan and his company from a global sustainability standpoint, highlighting the massive difference between our product and our competitor’s product from an embodied carbon footprint perspective and shared a simple graphic of what that looks like. I hit send, and about 30 minutes later, my phone rang. Based on the area code, I thought to myself, “No way this person is calling me — he read my email!” It wasn’t him, but the gentlemen on the phone said, “Hi, my boss just forwarded me your email, and this bid will not be awarded until we learn more about this embodied carbon impact.” Well, long story short — we won that project back!
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
James Wines, who was my architecture thesis professor at Penn State, was — and is — a huge inspiration to me. James is considered one of the fathers of green architecture — or what we now know as “sustainability.”
Thank you for that. Let’s now move to the central part of our discussion. Let’s start with a basic definition of terms so that everyone is on the same page. What does climate justice mean to you? How do we operationalize it?
We all agree that climate change is an extremely important issue, and it takes both private sectors and public sectors working together to operationalize and mitigate its effects. This has been in the hands of the private sector for a long time, but we’ve started to see the public sector mobilize recently.
The built environment generates 40% of annual global CO2 emissions. Of total emissions, building and infrastructure materials and construction are responsible for 13% annually.
The United States General Services Administration (GSA) recently launched a low-carbon building materials pilot program that will help determine new requirements for procuring significantly lower-embodied carbon construction materials, such as concrete and steel, for federal buildings projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.
This is important because, for the first time in a long time, the government is acknowledging climate change, emphasizing that businesses need to monitor their impacts on the environment. With private and public sectors working together, this program has the potential to make big strides in reducing CO2 emissions. Additionally, this model paves the way for mass adoption.
Looking ahead to the election year in 2024, I hope that momentum this will continue in a bipartisan way.
Science is telling us that we have 7–10 years to make critical decisions about climate change. What are three things you or your organization are doing to help?
Like I mentioned, Planet Passionate is focused on three different sectors: climate change, circularity and protection of the natural world. One of the focuses is the urgent action to reduce greenhouse gases. In 2022 alone, Kingspan Insulated Panels North America installed its first solar PV system in Modesto, California, with the objective to reduce the embodied carbon of our products. We also aimed to improve circularity by rolling out a waste segregation initiative in our Deland, Florida, facility that separated waste into nine streams, which allowed for upcycling materials where possible. Last but not least, we commissioned a water efficiency program to reduce water consumption in our offices and facilities — our goal is to harvest 27 million gallons of rainwater by 2030. To reach that goal, we have installed the North America flagship rainwater harvesting system at our Deland, Florida, facility.
These are just a few examples of our recent initiatives.
Are there three things the community, society, or politicians can do to help you in your mission?
Planet Passionate is engrained into our everyday lives at Kingspan. The mission behind the initiative is to drive forward conscious decisions made both at a corporate level and also at home. At Kingspan, we’ve integrated Planet Passionate into everything we do. From the way our facilities are fueled, to the way we educate our staff on the importance of saving the planet and how they can individually protect it. We believe that it is a community effort to protect the planet, and we advocate for local initiatives to better the planet. Earlier this year, we here at Kingspan North America partnered with our local communities in Langley, British Columbia, with an objective to increase the bee population in the local area. Additionally, our staff in Columbus, Ohio, devoted volunteer hours to supporting local community tree planting events. Not only do we advocate for our staff to participate, but we encourage local community members to participate, as well.
Continued efforts pushed through government policies and politicians are a huge contribution to the overarching goal of lowering embodied carbon within the construction industry. Like I mentioned previously, recent federal government initiatives have been aimed at lowering embodied carbon in federal buildings by prioritizing the use of low carbon materials in the construction and renovation process of these buildings. This is the first time the federal government has taken initiative to regulate the amount of carbon in federally funded projects. The government’s involvement is a strong driving force that can escalate and expedite the goal of lowering embodied carbon in construction. We hope to continue seeing support from the federal government moving forward.
The private sector also holds a great amount of responsibility to lower embodied carbon. Kingspan encourages and continues to educate staff members and the surrounding communities of the importance of caring for the planet, and we advocate for other companies to do so, as well. We hope this will shift society’s viewpoint and make climate change a key factor in their decision-making.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
Kingspan’s QuadCore Technology is the company’s next generation of self-blended hybrid insulation core. The class-leading R-value of R-9.0 per inch for cold storage applications means QuadCore is the most thermally efficient insulation core on the market. Kingspan’s QuadCore provides an insulation core that reduces the amount of heating/cooling needed in facilities, which can reduce the cost spent on utilities over time and make businesses more profitable.
Our main objective through collaborations is to provide a product that is sustainable, benefitting the environment and our customers. We work with architects to provide building materials that meet LEED certification requirements, while also providing energy efficiency.
One of our recent projects with EcoFibre demonstrates the ambitious requirements challenging architects to achieve sustainability goals. With just 11 months to erect and have its facility up and running, Ecofibre’s partnership with Kingspan allowed for not only an efficient building process, but also helped achieve sustainability goals through thermal efficiency found in Kingspan’s insulated metal panels. According to JRA, Ecofibre’s architect, “to achieve ambitious thermal values and energy savings, very early in the process the decision was made to use Kingspan’s QuadCore insulated metal panels.”
Another project using Kingspan’s insulated metal panels is Terminal D at Nashville International Airport (BNA). The airport terminal boasts 115,000-square-feet with six new aircraft gates, art displays and numerous amenities. The architects chose Kingspan Designwall 2000 and Designwall 4000 panels, allowing them complete design freedom, while also providing thermal efficiency. The panels provide an all-in-one barrier against air and water penetration, minimizing energy consumption. Providing an R-value of 9.0 per inch, QuadCore technology found in Design 4000 contains 28% less embodied carbon when compared to traditional industrial claddings. We believe that no matter how small the investment is in sustainability, it is a greater investment in our future and the health of our planet.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started promoting sustainability and climate justice” and why?
- Sustainability is personal. What I mean by this is, in today’s day and age, we are all go, go, go, trying to check things off our to-do list and make it through the week. You have to forge personal connections between people and sustainability and show them why it matters to create change for the better.
- Greenwashing — when a company spends more time marketing itself as environmentally friendly than it does working to limit environmental impact — is very real. If you want to work for a truly sustainable company, find one that has real examples of initiatives it has done to make change happen. It really should start top-down.
- Change takes time. We’d all love to flip a switch and make things perfect, but unfortunately that’s just not how the world works. You have to be patient and resist getting frustrated with your progress. Incremental change is still change.
- You are who you surround yourself with. Surround yourself with like-minded, passionate, driven individuals to better yourself and keep yourself on the right path.
- Big business gets a bit of a bad rap sometimes, but big business is not all bad. Times have changed with the dawn of Environmental, Social, and Governance.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Elon Musk, for sure! He is absolutely brilliant and such a disruptor. I want to know what goes on in his head and ask him questions about how he operates and attacks challenges and opportunities. I want to find out when we are going to Mars, what is he currently reading and how he successfully launched four of the most impactful technology companies in human history while sleeping three hours a night.
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
Readers can follow my work at https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-trenga-a077278/.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
About the Interviewer: Monica Sanders JD, LL.M, is the founder of “The Undivide Project”, an organization dedicated to creating climate resilience in underserved communities using good tech and the power of the Internet. She holds faculty roles at the Georgetown University Law Center and the Tulane University Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy. Professor Sanders also serves on several UN agency working groups. As an attorney, Monica has held senior roles in all three branches of government, private industry, and nonprofits. In her previous life, she was a journalist for seven years and the recipient of several awards, including an Emmy. Now the New Orleans native spends her time in solidarity with and championing change for those on the frontlines of climate change and digital divestment. Learn more about how to join her at: www.theundivideproject.org.
How Brent Trenga Of Kingspan Insulated Panels North America Is Helping to Promote Sustainability… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.