US: Owens Corning has announced its receipt of UL-certified ISO compliant Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its Unfaced and Kraft-Faced EcoTouch(R) PINK(R) FIBERGLAS(TM) Insulation with PureFiber(R) Technology and its Unbonded LooseFill Insulation. An EPD is an internationally-recognised, standardised tool that reports the environmental impact of goods or services.
An industry first for fibreglass building insulation in North America, the EPDs describe the environmental impact of the insulation products based upon an established set of product category rules and independently verified life cycle assessment (LCA) data from cradle-to-grave. Through the LCA process, products are evaluated on several parameters including raw material production and transportation, product manufacturing and plant operations, product packaging, transportation and distribution of the insulation products and end of life impact.
"The UL-certified EPDs for our EcoTouch(R) Unfaced and Kraft-Faced Batts and Unbonded LooseFill Insulation reflect our commitment to sustainability and our pledge to be transparent about our products' environmental performance through certification by credible third parties," said Gale Tedhams, director of sustainability for Owens Corning. "The EPDs are a valuable tool, providing the next-level of product information for architects, builders and specifiers to help them meet certain criteria for green building and make sustainable purchasing decisions."
Owens Corning's new EPDs underline insulation as a key contributor to a building's overall energy-efficiency, helping to reduce the energy required to maintain a comfortable living or work environment. Typically, insulation saves 12 times as much energy in its first year in place as the energy used to produce it. That means that the energy consumed during manufacturing is saved during the first four to five weeks of product use.
