News Release

Session to showcase first completed sustainable and affordable home renovation project under three-year national partnership.

The three-year national partnership between Saint-Gobain and YouthBuild USA will be highlighted at the U.S. Green Building Council's Greenbuild International Conference and Expo as an example of a successful public-private partnership formed to build green affordable housing. Session panelists will share how they worked with 125 YouthBuild students over the course of 18-months to complete the first project under the partnership. The session will be held on Thursday, November 15 at 8 a.m. in the West Building in Room 2009. YouthBuild students and graduates will also be speaking and volunteering throughout the three-day conference.

Currently in year two of three, the partnership provides out-of-school young adults with the opportunity to build energy-efficient and healthy homes in their neighborhoods and gain green job skills while earning their GEDs or high school diplomas. YouthBuild USA partnered with Saint-Gobain through the Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation with support from the Saint-Gobain family of companies, including its largest North American subsidiary CertainTeed, to complete sustainable rehabs in four communities where Saint-Gobain has business concentrations including: Philadelphia, Pa., Akron, Ohio, Worcester, Mass., and Schenectady, N.Y. Each project is receiving a total of $100,000 in pass-through grants over the three years from Saint-Gobain.

The session's panelists will include: Lucas Hamilton, manager, Building Science Applications, CertainTeed Corporation, Carmen Ferrigno, vice president of communications, Saint-Gobain Corporation, and Don Pinkney, director of construction and business development, YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School.

The home in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood was finished in July 2012 and is set to achieve the prestigious LEED® Platinum rating. The Saint-Gobain family of companies, led by CertainTeed, provided nearly $25,000 in energy-efficient building products to the Philadelphia project. In addition, employees from Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed's Valley Forge headquarters spent nearly 500 hours of time to ensure the home's timely completion and LEED certification. CertainTeed's industry-leading building scientists played an especially valuable role as they advised the students and other project partners on the use of energy-efficient product technology and passive strategies to build a sustainable, affordable home.

"At Saint-Gobain, we believe we can all do well by doing good, and partnering with organizations like YouthBuild USA that share a commitment to community development, energy conservation, and environmental stewardship is central to that belief," said Carmen Ferrigno, vice president of communications, Saint-Gobain Corporation. "The completed home is exemplary of what can be done when public and private organizations work together."

YouthBuild will also have a presence at Greenbuild 2012's Green Jobs Summit. Ely Flores, a YouthBuild LA CAUSA graduate, will introduce Green Jobs Summit Keynote and Master Series Speaker Van Jones, president and co-founder of Rebuild the Dream, a pioneering initiative to restore good jobs and economic opportunity on Wednesday, November 14, 4:30 p.m. at the North Building in the Gateway Ballroom.

Forty YouthBuild California Coalition students, graduates, and staff will volunteer at the conference's recycling center and other locations. In return for their service, the USGBC is awarding YouthBuild volunteers free admission to Greenbuild education sessions and the trade expo.

Greenbuild attendees are invited to visit the YouthBuild USA Green Initiative booth (Booth #5651W) and speak with YouthBuild students and graduates about opportunities to partner with local YouthBuild programs. The YouthBuild USA booth was donated by the USGBC and outfitted by Freeman.

For more information on YouthBuild and Saint-Gobain at Greenbuild 2012 visit http://YouthBuild.org/Green and http://www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com/greenbuild, follow @YB_Green and @SaintGobainNA on Twitter and use hashtags #YBatGB and #SGgreen for real-time updates.

About YouthBuild

In YouthBuild programs, low-income young people ages 16-24 work full-time for 6-24 months toward their GEDs or high school diplomas while learning job skills by building affordable, increasingly green housing in their communities and preparing for postsecondary success. Emphasis is placed on leadership development, community service, and the creation of a positive mini-community of adults and youth committed to each other's success. Students may earn AmeriCorps education awards through their homebuilding and other community service. At exit, they are placed in college, jobs, or both and offered support toward expanding leadership roles.

Local YouthBuild programs in the United States are sponsored by local community- and faith-based organizations and public entities that raise funds from a variety of sources, with the primary federal funds administered by the US Department of Labor under an authorized federal line item created in 1992 with bi-partisan support led by Senator John Kerry and continued ever since. There are now 273 YouthBuild programs in 46 states, Washington DC, and the Virgin Islands. Since 1994, 110,000 YouthBuild students have built 21,000 units of affordable, increasingly green, housing in their neighborhoods while working to fulfill their own educational goals.

About YouthBuild USA, Inc.

YouthBuild USA is an international non-profit organization that orchestrates advocacy for public funding, guidance and quality assurance in program implementation, leadership opportunities for youth and staff, research to understand best practices, and targeted grants to YouthBuild USA affiliates. YouthBuild USA received the international Skoll Award for social entrepreneurship and has been named as one of America's 12 best non-profits in the book "Forces for Good." YouthBuild USA sponsors YouthBuild International, which has worked with NGOs and governments in 12 countries to establish 56 YouthBuild International programs. To learn more, visit www.youthbuild.org.

About Saint-Gobain Corporation in North America

Saint-Gobain, the world's largest building materials company, has its North American headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. As the world leader in sustainable habitat, Saint-Gobain is committed to inventing solutions to help professionals and communities around the world build and renovate comfortable, healthy, economical and energy-efficient buildings. The company has more than 265 locations in North America and approximately 19,000 employees. In the United States and Canada, Saint-Gobain reported sales of approximately $7.7 billion in 2011.

Recognized as a 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Saint-Gobain earned the 2011 and 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award, the highest level of recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency. For more information about Saint-Gobain in North America, visit www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com and connect with the company on Facebook and Twitter.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Dina Silver Pokedoff
External Communications Manager, Saint-Gobain North America
610-341-7031
610-341-7777
Dina.Pokedoff@saint-gobain.com
http://www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com