New Building Envelope Energy Codes in Brazil Could Mean New Market for Glass Makers
November 21, 2011

By Sahely Mukerji, smukerji@glass.com

The use of high-performance, energy-efficient glass and dynamic solar control will possibly see an uptick in Brazil, as the country gets ready to create and establish its building envelope energy-rating system in the eve of hosting the upcoming Olympics and the World Cup. The Brazil-USA Building Envelope Energy Efficiency Technology Cooperation Workshop in Sao Paolo on November 2 brought together representatives from the U.S. and Brazilian governments, as well as private sectors, to discuss plans for developing the energy-rating system to help consumers identify energy-saving building envelope products, such as windows, roofs and insulation.

The workshop was a key element of "an effort to promote U.S. products in Brazil, an economy with over 190 million people with GDP growing at 5 to 7 percent per year," according to a trip report by Marc LaFrance, technology development manager of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). "A side benefit may be beneficial to the U.S. buildings domestic program. One perspective could be if greater emerging markets are formed for high-performance products, would that result in a compression of the learning curve to have low cost products on the U.S. market faster than if they are only developed for the U.S. market?"

Building codes in a growing number of countries recognize the energy efficiency benefits of coated and other advanced glass products, says Robert Joyce, director of global governmental affairs for Guardian Industries in Auburn Hills, Mich. "Such recognition not only promotes energy conservation, it creates incentives for companies to invest in new manufacturing plants and technologies. But governments must demonstrate a strong political will to implement and enforce building codes for these benefits to be fully realized."

Guardian sponsored the workshop in Brazil.

"The Brazilian high-performance glazing market is small, but there are several U.S. companies active in Brazil trying to promote high-performance glass," LaFrance says. "The workshop highlighted opportunities for the U.S. and Brazil to accelerate the market for high-performance glass through cooperation on the development and implementation of a glazing rating and certification program. In the near term, such a program would support voluntary whole building labeling programs that are already in place."

Other than officials from the DOE, the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) in Greenbelt, Md., and Guardian, officials from the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and AssociaçãoBrasileira de NormasTécnicas (ABNT), Sao Paulo Municipal Government/City Hall, were among agencies and organizations that participated in the workshop. Approximately 100 invited guests attended the event.

"The energy efficiency workshop in Sao Paulo was a real hands-on, working session with all the necessary players in the room," says Earnest Thompson, director of corporate marketing and brand management for Guardian. "Bipin Shah (NFRC) and others talked about 'cool roofs' and Mark LaFrance talked about DOE initiatives in the U.S. regarding glass and other building materials. But key to the day was the ownership and leadership shown by the Brazilian officials. Government pointed to the ABNT [Brazilian technical standards administration] and the glass association for getting industry and the public sector together. That's how big things begin to happen -- and this can be a big deal in a country building projects for the Olympics and World Cup."

The Brazil workshop was the "kind of international cooperation that enables us to continue making progress," says Ray McGowan, senior program manager for NFRC.

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