SUSTAINABILITY
Knauf Insulation
CARBON CUTTING OUT THE
Vanessa Rae, Marketing & Sustainability Director at Knauf Insulation on what the company is doing to address embodied carbon.
C
hanges to Approved Document L have brought a renewed focus on the energy efficiency of buildings. But, to achieve net zero, the construction industry
must address levels of embodied carbon too. Insulation plays a crucial role in improving energy efficiency, so what should merchants advise their customers about getting the best performance?
Firstly, go beyond the minimum standards, especially when retrofitting loft insulation in older houses. Secondly, use the right product for the application because each product is designed to perform in different ways. Finally, consider the material the product is made from because some insulation is harder to install correctly than others, which means they may not deliver their claimed performance. For example, rigid boards cannot adapt to imperfections in the substrate and joints can be difficult to align, leading to gaps that reduce energy efficiency. In contrast, mineral wool is flexible so adapts to imperfections and knits together at the joints, preventing these gaps. So, the insulation will deliver its intended performance for the lifetime of the building.
The UK Green Building Council states that embodied carbon is all the greenhouse gas emissions (carbon) generated when producing a built asset. It includes the emissions used to make all the products installed in that asset, and the construction process itself. This differs from operational carbon, which is the carbon from the energy used to run the building as well as the energy used by occupants. Embodied carbon contributes to the construction industry’s carbon footprint and must be tackled to achieve net zero. For this reason, RIBA and many construction clients have already introduced targets for embodied
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compression packaging to achieve a 10:1 product compression ratio. By increasing the amount of product per pack or per pallet, we reduce transport-related carbon emissions because you can fit more product on a truck. So, when Knauf Insulation delivers six pallets of 200mm Loft Roll 44 to a builders’ merchant, some competitors need to use 10 pallets for the same quantity of equivalent products. Compressing the insulation also reduces plastic because there’s more insulation per m2 of packaging.
carbon, so it’s something installers and contractors will be asking about. Levels of embodied carbon can vary depending on how an insulation product is made, packaged and transported. Glass mineral wool is a good choice because it has the lowest levels of embodied carbon of any mainstream insulation material. Responsible manufacturers publish Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to European Standard EN 15804, which include details of the product’s carbon footprint. Also, look for third-party verification such as BRE Green Guide rating, Declare ‘Red List Free’ label, BES 6001 or Made in Britain. We have a long history of innovation where sustainability is concerned. This includes the development of ECOSE Technology, our unique bio-based binder, our partnership with Veolia which supplies glass cullet collected and recycled locally for our Glass Mineral Wool insulation, and our continuous energy management programme, which reduces the carbon footprint of our St Helens and Cwmbran manufacturing plants. Last year, we took further steps to tackle product embodied carbon through our ‘Packaging For A Better World’ project. This included upgrading our industry-leading
We then redesigned our packaging, so less ink is used, and are completing the transition to a new packaging film that contains between 30% and 50% recycled plastic, reducing waste to landfill. The new packaging design makes choosing the right product easier, which can have an impact on operational carbon because using the correct product for the application helps to ensure the building achieves its as-designed performance. Sustainability is a real focus for us and our ‘For A Better World’ sustainability strategy sets ambitious commitments for 2050 including achieving zero carbon and delivering a circular economy.
A first step towards achieving these goals is next year’s £45M+ investment in our two UK Glass Mineral Wool plants. This will allow us to further improve the embodied carbon of our products as well as expanding our range to include new, industry-leading lower lambda and thicker insulation products, helping increase the energy efficiency of the built environment.
This means we will be able to support our merchant customers by giving them the high- performance insulation solutions the industry needs to meet changing energy efficiency standards whilst also minimising the impact of our products on the environment. n
A supplement to builders merchants journal November 2022
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