CONTINGENT LIABILITIES AND OTHER MATTERS

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

CONTINGENT LIABILITIES AND OTHER MATTERS

CONTINGENT LIABILITIES AND OTHER MATTERS

The Company may be involved in various legal and regulatory proceedings relating to employment, antitrust, tax, product liability, environmental, contracts, intellectual property and other matters (collectively, “Proceedings”). The Company regularly reviews the status of such Proceedings along with legal counsel. Liabilities for such Proceedings are recorded when it is probable that the liability has been incurred and when the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated. Liabilities are adjusted when additional information becomes available. Except as set forth below under “Litigation and Regulatory Proceedings,” management believes that the amount of any reasonably possible losses in excess of any amounts accrued, if any, with respect to such Proceedings or any other known claim, including the matters described below under the caption Environmental Matters (the “Environmental Matters”), are not material to the Company’s financial statements. While the likelihood is remote, the disposition of the Proceedings and Environmental Matters could have a material impact on the results of operations, cash flows or liquidity in any given reporting period.

Litigation and Regulatory Proceedings

The Company is involved in litigation and regulatory proceedings from time to time in the regular course of its business. The Company believes that adequate provisions for resolution of all contingencies, claims and pending matters have been made for probable losses that are reasonably estimable.

During the second quarter of 2023, the Company’s subsidiary, Paroc Group OY (“Paroc”), which the Company acquired in 2018, notified the appropriate European maritime regulatory authorities that specific products in its marine insulation product line may not meet certain fire safety requirements in accordance with their certifications. Paroc voluntarily withdrew these specific products from the market, issued recalls, and suspended distribution and sales of these products (the “Recalled Products”). Paroc continues to cooperate with the applicable regulatory and government authorities and work with its customers and end-users to assist with remediation for the recall. During the first quarter of 2024, the Company discovered potential nonconformances relating to two other marine insulation product lines. In April 2024, Paroc suspended sales of these marine insulation products as a precautionary measure while it reviews the potential nonconformances, but has not issued recalls. The Company has included an estimated liability for expected future costs related to the Recalled Products on its Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023. The estimated liability is primarily based on assumptions related to the estimated costs of the remedy for the Recalled Products. At this time, we cannot estimate a range of loss for any additional costs related to the Recalled Products that exceed the current estimated liability. We reevaluate these assumptions each period, and the related liability may be adjusted when factors indicate that the liability is either not sufficient to cover or exceeds the estimated costs related to the Recalled Products. Based on the factors currently known, we believe the appropriate liability has been established at this time. It is reasonably possible that additional costs related to the Recalled Products could be incurred that exceed the estimated liability by amounts that could be material to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

As part of its review of the Paroc insulation product portfolio, the Company discovered potential nonconformances relating to certain ventilation duct insulation products. In January 2024, Paroc suspended sales of the affected insulation products as a precautionary measure while it reviews the potential nonconformances, but has not issued recalls. We expect to incur costs associated with the resolution of this matter. The amount or range of any potential loss cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. The Company is continuing its review.

Environmental Matters

The Company has established policies and procedures designed to ensure that its operations are conducted in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations and that enable the Company to meet its high standards for corporate sustainability and environmental stewardship. Our manufacturing facilities are subject to numerous foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the presence of hazardous materials, pollution and protection of the environment, including emissions to air, reductions of greenhouse gases, discharges to water, management of hazardous materials, handling and disposal of solid wastes, use of chemicals in our manufacturing processes, and remediation of contaminated sites. All Company manufacturing facilities are either ISO 14001 certified or deploy environmental management systems based on ISO 14001 principles. The Company’s 2030 Sustainability Goals include significant global reductions in energy use, water consumption, waste to landfill, and emissions of greenhouse gases, fine particulate matter, and volatile organic air emissions, and protection of biodiversity.

Owens Corning is involved in remedial response activities and is responsible for environmental remediation at a number of sites, including certain of its currently owned or formerly owned plants. These responsibilities arise under a number of laws, including, but not limited to, the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and similar state or local laws pertaining to the management and remediation of hazardous materials and petroleum. The Company has also been named a potentially responsible party under the U.S. Federal Superfund law, similar state or local laws pertaining to the management and remediation of hazardous materials and petroleum. The Company became involved in these sites as a result of government action or in connection with business acquisitions. As of June 30, 2024, the Company was involved with a total of 22 sites worldwide, including 9 Superfund and state or country equivalent sites and 13 owned or formerly owned sites. None of the liabilities for these sites are individually significant to the Company.

Remediation activities generally involve a potential range of activities and costs related to soil, groundwater, and sediment contamination. This can include pre-cleanup activities such as fact-finding and investigation, risk assessment, feasibility studies, remedial action design and implementation (where actions may range from monitoring to removal of contaminants, to installation of longer-term remediation systems). A number of factors affect the cost of environmental remediation, including the number of parties involved in a particular site, the determination of the extent of contamination, the length of time the remediation may require, the complexity of environmental regulations, variability in clean-up standards, the need for legal action, and changes in remediation technology. Taking these factors into account, Owens Corning reasonably estimates the costs of remediation to be paid over a period of years. The Company accrues an amount on an undiscounted basis, when a liability is probable and reasonably estimable. Actual cost may differ from these estimates for the reasons mentioned above. At June 30, 2024, the Company had an accrual totaling $4 million for these costs, of which the current portion is $2 million. Changes in required remediation procedures or timing of those procedures, or discovery of contamination at additional sites, could result in material increases to the Company’s environmental obligations.

During the first quarter of 2024, the Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente (“PROFEPA”) issued a ruling to Owens Corning Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V., a subsidiary of the Company (“OC Mexico”), citing violations of Mexico’s air emissions regulations at OC Mexico’s facility in Mexico City, Mexico and imposing monetary sanctions of approximately $1 million. OC Mexico previously performed all related corrective action and, as of the date of this report, is in compliance with applicable federal and local environmental laws. OC Mexico is in the process of appealing PROFEPA’s ruling and the resulting monetary sanctions.