Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Kazakhstan: KazFeltec and Italy-based Cormatex plan to build a Euro10m natural wool insulation plant in Aktobe Region. Kazakhstan General Newsline has reported that the plant will use local coarse sheep’s wool, a waste product of which 3500t/yr is generated currently in Aktobe. The plant is scheduled for commissioning in mid-late 2023.

US: The National Insulation Association (NIA) has joined the US Department of Energy’s Better Climate Challenge initiative as an ally. Allies play a lead role in raising awareness of the initiative, which aims to reduce CO₂ emissions across US industrial plants and buildings.

France: Groupe Berkem and Soprema have launched Pavatex, a wood fibre-based insulation panel. Groupe Berkem says that it developed a bio-based polyphenolic fungicide for use in the panel. The partners say that development of the product took 30 months.

Groupe Berkem chair and CEO Olivier Fahy said “The development of a unique solution that meets the needs of the market is the result of the collaboration between our two groups and the pooling of our technical expertise. For Groupe Berkem, this collaboration agreement is part of our continuous commitment to supporting the transition of chemical substances to eco-responsible and bio-based solutions.”

Belgium: Etex has raised Euro800m through a sustainability-linked medium - long-term unsecured loan. The producer says that the private placement, called a Schuldschein in German finance law, comprises three Euro-denominated tranches with maturities of three, five and seven years, at fixed and floating rates.

CEO Bernard Delvaux said “We are very pleased with this new Schuldschein issuance which we successfully completed in a challenging context. It testifies to a significant appreciation of Etex’s credit quality, of its performance of the last years and it demonstrates the investors’ confidence in the company’s strategy. Moreover, this operation broadens our investors’ base at attractive market conditions, increases the number of maturities and considerably extends the duration of our debt profile.”

Belgium: The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) has certified Recticel Insulation’s Recticel Eurothane GP, Eurothane Eurodeck and Eurowall Cavity polyisocyanurate (PIR) and polyurethane (PUR) as meeting good forest management standards. This ensures customers that the products’ multilayer paper facings are sustainably sourced.

Head of technical management Dirk Vermeulen said “With the PEFC label on our insulation products, we provide proof of our commitment to sustainability to architects, turnkey companies, project developers and contractors, as well as end-users.”

US: Saint-Gobain plans to spend US$32m towards to upgrade to CertainTeed’s Chowchilla glasswool plant in California. The investment is part of a US$400m expansion package planned for four US plants previously announced in November 2021. The upgrade work at Chowchilla will include the addition of a new furnace and other equipment that will use less natural gas and electricity. It is the largest investment in the site since its creation in 1978. Saint-Gobain Group estimates that these improvements will reduce CO₂ emissions by 4000t/yr at the site.

US: Owens Corning’s 16th Sustainability Report has detailed the producer’s progress towards achieving its 2030 sustainability goals. The report covers indicators under 16 topics to demonstrate its environnmental footprint reduction. These included lowering greenhouse gas emissions, increasing recycled content and circularity, improving energy and process efficiency, increasing renewable energy use and fuel switching from on-site fossil fuel use to lower or zero-carbon alternatives. Between 2007 and 2021, Owens Corning reduced its CO₂ emissions by 60%. In 2021, it recycled 635,000t of glass in its glass wool insulation production.

CEO Brian Chambers and senior vice president and chief sustainability officer (CSO) Frank O'Brien-Bernini said "We have established roadmaps to help our teams understand what’s needed to meet our environmental footprint reduction goals. These roadmaps guide our short, mid and long-term strategies, and help ensure that sustainability remains our priority as we innovate to serve our customers, while addressing both the challenges and the opportunities within the relevant secular trends." They continued "Beyond environmental footprint reduction 'within' our plants, we are working to refine our understanding and set measurable goals for our impact on biodiversity and the circular economy, as well as continually seeking better ways to measure our progress on social impact priorities like inclusion and diversity.”

US: Ethisphere has named Owens Corning on its World’s Most Ethical Companies list for the fifth consecutive year. Dow Jones Institutional Newswires has reported that, among 136 winners, Owens Corning was one of only three construction and building materials companies named. In the past year, it scored perfectly on the 2022 Corporate Equality Index, debuted at number 27 on the Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies list and scored Gold in S&P Global’s 2022 Sustainability Yearbook.

Executive Vice President and General Counsel Gina Beredo said "This is an achievement earned and shared by our 20,000 employees across the world who live our purpose each day with an unwavering commitment to ethical business practices."

US: CertainTeed and parent company Saint-Gobain North America have joined the US Department of Energy’s Better Climate Challenge initiative. The platform is intended to encourage companies and organisations to reduce their portfolio-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 25% or more over the next decade. Saint-Gobain’s new global Grow and Impact strategy includes a goal of reducing the company’s global carbon emissions by 33% by 2030.

Slovenia: Knauf Insulation Slovenija has commissioned its new 1MW solar power plant. The installation is situated atop the roof of the company’s Škofja Loka glass wool insulation plant in Upper Carniola.

Digital and brand manager and green solutions advocacy lead Jure Šumi said that the latest milestone demonstrates the company’s commitment to reduing carbon emissions, creating better built environments, driving the circular economy and developing its people, all for a better world.