Continental Building Products: EPD coverage snapshot
Continental Building Products once lived at continental-bp.com. Today the business sits inside CertainTeed Saint-Gobain, so its gypsum lineup shows up under CertainTeed’s umbrella. If you sell drywall or finishing materials into projects that ask for EPDs, here is where their portfolio shines, where it still has gaps, and how to turn those gaps into wins.
Who they are now
Continental Building Products was acquired by Saint‑Gobain and integrated with CertainTeed on February 3, 2020 for about $1.4 billion (Saint‑Gobain, 2020). For product transparency and EPDs, the relevant pages now live with CertainTeed. A good jumping‑off page is CertainTeed’s transparency hub, which consolidates LCAs and EPDs across divisions (CertainTeed Transparency).
What they sell
Continental’s legacy footprint is focused on interior gypsum systems. Think gypsum wallboard in multiple formulations, plus shaftliner, exterior glass‑mat sheathing, tile backer, and joint compounds. It is not a broad “everything walls” catalog. It is a tight gypsum suite with dozens of SKUs that cover core assemblies for multifamily, healthcare, education, and office interiors.
How many product categories
Two core categories dominate: gypsum boards and finishing compounds. Boards span several sub‑types by performance and plant, so count the SKUs in the dozens. Finishing compounds add more options, but still roughly in the dozens. This is a focused portfolio rather than a sprawling one.
EPD coverage today (strong for boards)
Most of the board side is well represented by facility‑specific and product‑specific EPDs published under CertainTeed. You will find Type X and Type C panels, moisture and mold resistant boards, acoustical variants, shaftliner, and glass‑mat exterior sheathing covered. For specifiers, that means robust documentation for the items that drive most gypsum volume on commercial jobs.
The gap to close (joint compounds)
We do not see the same public EPD depth for ready‑mix and setting‑type joint compounds under the legacy Continental set. In many pursuits, those are line‑items that tip submittals from “clean” to “needs substitution.” If your sales team hears “we need EPDs for all the wet goods,” this is the likely sticking point.
Why it matters commercially
LEED v4.1 BD+C awards a point for 20 weighted EPD‑qualifying products from at least five manufacturers, with additional points for optimization pathways (CAGBC, 2023). If your wallboard has an EPD but your joint compound does not, project teams may prefer a competitor whose entire gypsum system clears the same credit math. Missing one piece forces the GC to hunt another product and adds friction. That friction costs specs.
Competitors you’ll meet often
In gypsum board and compounds, the short list shows up again and again in submittal logs:
- USG
- National Gypsum
- Georgia‑Pacific Gypsum
- American Gypsum
- PABCO
Several competitors publicly list EPDs for select joint compounds. That makes them easier to plug into LEED‑driven schedules where teams want one brand across the board for warranty and logistics simplicity. You can win the back‑and‑forth only if your finishing materials check the same box.
A likely best‑seller without an EPD
Ready‑mix all‑purpose or lightweight finishing muds are workhorses on almost every drywall scope. If any of those do not yet have a product‑specific, third‑party verified EPD, that is the single fastest spec‑rate boost available to this portfolio. Start with the highest volume SKU. Then extend to the paired taping and topping variants so a standard three‑coat system is fully covered.
Feasibility check
There are existing Part B rulesets and established program operators handling gypsum and closely related materials, so compounds are feasible to declare within common PCR frameworks. The key is disciplined data collection at the plant level and clear formulation control across SKUs. That is where a strong LCA partner earns it’s keep by handling messy utility pulls, waste streams, recycled content, and packaging data while you keep lines running.
Where to focus first
Prioritize plant‑specific EPDs for the joint compound line used with your highest volume Type X board. That lets a project team specify a single manufacturer for the board plus the full finishing system and rack up the same MR credit weighting. We have seen teams specifiying by “system completeness” rather than unit price when schedules are tight and paperwork risk is high.
What good looks like in execution
- Pick one reference year for data and lock it. Gather energy, water, additives, fillers, packaging, and yield by SKU and by plant.
- Publish product‑specific EPDs for the compound that pairs with your best‑selling Type X board first. Expand to topping and lightweight variants next.
- Keep the gypsum board EPD set fresh at the same cadence so the whole drywall system stays aligned in dates and operators.
One last thought
Gypsum boards already carry the transparency load for this brand. Finishing compounds are the small hinge that swings the big door. Close that gap and you reduce substitution risk on LEED‑pursuing jobs and on owner programs that prefer or require EPDs. The paperwork burden should not fall on your plant managers or R&D leads. Choose an LCA partner that streamlines data intake, aligns the right PCRs, and publishes with your operator of choice so your team can sell more board instead of chasing meters and manifests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Continental Building Products still an independent brand with its own EPDs?
No. The business was acquired and integrated into CertainTeed Saint‑Gobain on February 3, 2020, so current EPDs appear under the CertainTeed umbrella (Saint‑Gobain, 2020).
How many product categories does the legacy Continental lineup cover?
Two core families: gypsum boards and finishing compounds. Across sub‑types and plants, SKUs are in the dozens.
Do joint compounds need their own EPDs if the wallboard already has one?
If you want a clean LEED submittal, yes. LEED v4.1 BD+C awards a point for 20 weighted EPD‑qualifying products from five manufacturers, so covering compounds helps project teams reach that threshold without mixing brands (CAGBC, 2023).
Where can I find CertainTeed’s sustainability and EPD information?
Start here: CertainTeed Transparency.
About the Author
Eric works at the intersection of sustainability, regulation, and business strategy, helping manufacturers navigate the evolving landscape of EPDs and LCAs. Having spoken with hundreds of teams across North America, brings a deep understanding of what drives ROI, what regulators are asking for, and how companies can stay ahead with smart, scalable approaches to environmental reporting.
