Any suggestions on materials that are light weight, durable, and sustainable? Specifically, I’m looking for something that has the durability of plexiglass for partitions for outdoor use (think retrofits for pandemic uses), but something that is more sustainable. Glass for all its pros and cons is too heavy and expensive, plus the framing elements alone would be expensive too. Other materials such as tack board or OSB coated with a sealer have been considered as well, but as you can imagine, cannot withstand rain or cleaning like plexiglass can.
I like Durra Panels: https://durrapanel.com/the-product/ I’m not sure whether they have an EPD, or if they would be available in your location. There are different finishes that will dictate the durability. As a side benefit you will get some sound insulation.
Aluminium could be a good option, depending on the source of power for refining and production the embodied carbon can be quite low.
Rather than plexiglass (PVC) use PET which is fully recyclable. It does need to be a bit thicker but has a similar durability and properties. Humanscale and others are using it for interior screens
It is probably not available commercially yet; however, there is research being conducted in Munich, Germany to develop carbon fiber from algae (https://www.algaeindustrymagazine.com/the-short-distance-from-algae-to-carbon-fiber/). I anticipate that a commercially available product will be available sometime during the next 5 years, and it will have the potential to be a strong, lightweight, and carbon-negative building material.