Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Austria: Austrotherm has launched a nationwide extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation cut-off collection service. The service will pick up waste XPS insulation from building sites for recycling in production at Austrotherm’s Purbach XPS insulation plant.

Technical director Heimo Pascher said “Our XPS sheets are ideal for recycling and can be fed back into the production process - this enables us to reduce CO₂ emissions and the consumption of resources in production. We are taking an important step in the direction of the circular economy.” He added “We have carefully analysed the savings effect. By recycling we reduce the CO₂ emissions in the disposal of construction site waste by at least 50%. With every tonne of XPS which we recycle, 1.80t of CO₂ can be saved. Or, to put it more impressively, every tonne of XPS that we recycle from construction sites saves as much CO₂ as around 148 European beech trees bind in a year.”

Ireland: Kingspan’s consolidated net sales increased by 24% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021 to Euro1.28bn. Insulated panels sales grew by 25% having started the year with a strong order backlog and insulation boards grew 12%. Communications company Edison Group said that growth was most pronounced in Germany, France and Benelux and Latin America, with a strong order intake in North America and the UK. Net debt at 31 March 2021 was Euro352m.

The company noted increasing inflationary pressure and challenges regarding availability despite strong demand and a strong backlog. As such, it has given no guidance for the year.

Kingspan highlighted its inaugural Planet Passionate sustainability report. The report details the company’s achievements in the first year of its 2019 10-year sustainability strategy. In 2020, the producer achieved net-zero energy and cut CO2 emissions by 5% year-on-year. It issued a Euro750m green private placement in September 2020. The company called the major achievements the ‘first leg’ of its decarbonisation journey. In its latest report, it set the target of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2030. Additionally, it is aiming to halve CO2 intensity over the same period. Altogether, Planet Passionate covers 12 sustainability targets across the key areas of energy, circularity, CO2 and water.

Chief executive officer Gene Murtagh said “Our Planet Passionate targets demand radical thinking and action. Our aim is to get as close to zero emissions in our manufacturing as technically possible by transforming our processes. Industry has a vital role to play in addressing the threat of climate change.” He added that the group target of 50% primary raw materials CO2 intensity reduction “will also lower the embodied carbon in our products, and consequently the whole life carbon of buildings.”

Spain: Knauf Insulation Iberia has launched a building design competition across Spanish universities and schools. Called Race to Zero, the competition will assess applicants’ designs for energy efficiency, innovation and residential sustainability. The best submission across all three categories will win its designer Euro15,000. The company will additionally invite the winner and runners up for practical training at its headquarters. The submission deadline is 28 May 2021.

General Director Oscar del Rio said, “This contest was born with the vocation of putting the building in its rightful place in the field of sustainability, given the importance it has for the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals according to our company's ‘For A Better World’ strategy.”

Denmark: Rockwool has detailed its sustainability achievements for 2020 in its Sustainability Reports 2020. During the year, assessment agency S&P Trucost certified all of Rockwool’s products as ‘positively impactful’ in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The company said that its insulation sold in 2020 saved 874,000GWh of heating energy. It said that the lifetime CO₂ emissions savings of its products are more than 100 times greater than their production emissions. It halved its production waste going to landfill compared to 2019, against reduction targets of 40% by 2022 and 85%. It achieved another of its interim sustainability goals early by increasing water efficiency by 10%, against a targeted 10% by 2022 and 20% by 2030.

Denmark: The Danish Society of Engineers has selected Rockwool as the European Business Award for the Environment winner in the Denmark category. The producer says that the award recognises its technology innovation and implementation of sustainable processes leading to more than 70% CO₂ emissions reduction. It said that its development of fuel-flexible melting technology has allowed a shift away from coal towards natural gas and biogas.

Group operations and technology senior vice president Bjørn Andersen said, “Winning this award testifies to the fact that sustainability is at the core of our business. The engineering and technology innovations this award recognises build on our decades-long efforts to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of our own operations. More than 50 engineers in Denmark have been working on the patented fuel-flexible melting technology being highlighted today. Ready-made solutions did not exist, so we invented them ourselves.”

He added, “Because we operate in many countries around the world, we also know that we cannot put all our technology eggs in one basket. That is why Rockwool has also developed a large-scale electric melting technology that is well-suited in countries where the electricity grid is already low carbon. At Rockwool’s factory in Moss, Norway, for example, we have recently inaugurated the industry’s largest electric melter, reducing emissions by approximately 80% compared to the previous technology used there.”

US: The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has named Owens Corning on its Climate Change A List of companies that took actions to cut emissions, reduce climate impacts and help build the low-carbon economy in 2020. 270 companies won the top status from a pool of 5800 applicants. The CDP also named the company amongst 106 companies on the 2020 Water Security A List.

Denmark: Rockwool has received approval from the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) for its new decarbonisation goals. The goals consist of a planned 38% reduction in plant greenhouse gas emissions and 20% reduction in absolute lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions between 2019 and 2034.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Jens Birgersson said, “We’re proud to be among the few energy-intensive manufacturing companies whose science-based emission reduction targets SBTI has verified and approved. These new targets build on the strong foundation that we are already a net carbon negative company. Though not many companies can make that claim, we also know it’s not enough, which is why we have committed to this ambitious decarbonisation pathway.” He added, “Achieving these emission reduction targets will be an important step in realising the global ambition to reduce society’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. By demonstrating that an energy-intensive manufacturing company can achieve these targets, we hope to inspire others to take actions to help create a greener, more sustainable future.”

Belgium: Knauf Insulation has launched its 2020 Annual Review. Europe, Middle East and Asia management committee member Jean-Claude Carlin said, “The global pandemic has put our people and our values of challenge.create.care. firmly in the spotlight this year.”

The company said that it navigated continuous challenges by ensuring staff and customers were ’As Safe As Home.’ It implemented plans to achieve its new ‘For a Better World’ sustainability strategy under the headings ‘Putting People First,’ ’Achieving Zero Carbon,’ ’Delivering a Circular Economy’ and ’Creating Better Buildings.’ The last includes the company’s plans for a new Eco-Design tool and efforts to drive the European Commission’s ‘Renovation Wave.’ The producer also reduced carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions per cubic metre of product by 23% between 2010 and 2019.

Carlin said, “These milestones will keep our sustainability journey on track and ensure that we are all responsible for delivering success not leaving problems for the next generation. These milestones are an exciting challenge that I am confident will bring out the best in everyone. I look forward to reporting positive progress next year.”

Finland: Owens Corning subsidiary Paroc has committed to reduce CO₂ emission by 50%, reduce plastics use by 30% and achieve zero waste by 2030. The company that it will also “expand the use of the Rewool customer waste recycling solution and develop and offer new low carbon products,” as exemplified by its launch of the new carbon-neutral product Paroc Natura line in early 2021.

Owens Corning Insulation Europe regional sustainability leader Beatrice Hallén said, “Paroc is in the business of energy efficiency. For each tonne of CO₂ generated in the manufacturing of stone wool, about 200t of CO₂ is saved by stone wool’s thermal insulation properties over a 50-year period. That does not mean we are content. We want to turn every stone to find new ways to make our general footprint as small as possible. We want to be forerunners in developing sustainable buildings together with our customers. We also want to design our products and solutions for recycling and reuse. For us, sustainability is about meeting the needs of the present while leaving the world a better place for the future.”

Belgium: Knauf Insulation has announced its new sustainability strategy, entitled ‘For A Better World.’ The company says, “The strategy is defined by clear concrete targets for 2025, focussing on four key sustainable goals: Putting People First, Achieving Zero Carbon, Delivering A Circular Economy and Creating Better Buildings.” Its targets include reducing total recordable incident rate from 9.2 to 5.0, reducing the embodied carbon dioxide (CO₂) of products by 15%, investing 10% of general capital expenditure (CAPEX) in new projects to reduce emissions or landfill waste, cutting the carbon footprint of business travel by 25%, reducing virgin plastic packaging by 25%, using more than 25% of external recycled material in mineral wool and more than 65% recycled material in glass wool and sending zero production waste to landfill. Chief executive officer (CEO) Jean-Claude Carlin said, “These clear, concrete short-term targets for 2025 support our long-term commitments in ways that everyone can start achieving now.”

Director of sustainability Vincent Briard said, “Sustainability defines everything we do. Our products save energy, cut emissions and make buildings fit for the future. We have the experience and expertise to ensure all our customers achieve their sustainable ambitions. We are also here to help. We are supporting our customers as they navigate market forces and regulatory landscapes that are increasingly demanding more sustainable building solutions.”