Your next project has the potential to make a difference. That’s because buildings have a massive impact on the environment—encompassing everything from waste in landfills to carbon dioxide emissions to energy consumption.
Even if you’re not looking to get your project LEED certified, you can still choose more sustainable materials so that your building could potentially produce a net positive rather than a net negative effect on the world. That’s what sustainability is really all about; living in harmony with the natural world. This is your opportunity to choose materials that are more compatible with nature. Let’s find out how.
How Buildings Play a Role in Creating a Sustainable Future
None of us live forever, but it’s likely that our buildings, and the effects of how we live today, will outlast us and continue to impact future generations for years to come.
While historic buildings have lasted hundreds and some even thousands of years if well-maintained, today’s buildings aren’t lasting so long. The estimated lifespan of a college campus building is 75 years, and most single-family homes are lucky to last a hundred.
One simple way to make a difference is by picking the right building materials. By choosing more durable building materials, you can fortify your building’s defenses against the elements and improve the longevity of the structure. Although your structure may not last thousands of years, it’s still important to consider the environmental impacts during its lifespan.
Buildings, both residential and commercial, affect the environment in several ways, including:
Energy Consumption
Carbon Emissions (read more here)
Resource Consumption
Construction Waste
Luckily, designers and builders can work together to reduce the negative impact caused by these factors. One major way to reduce the building’s impact is reducing energy consumption by choosing sustainable insulation materials. When you reduce unintentional heat exchange (heat loss) through the building envelope, you affect the degree to which your building impacts the environment. You’ll want to select sustainable insulation that adequately insulates the building envelope in order to increase energy efficiency.
What is Environmentally Sustainable Insulation?
So, how do you find and select building materials that are truly environmentally sustainable?
Environmental Product Declarations
One way is to review Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). These documents are provided by manufacturers and third parties and provide the results of studies that show the environmental impact of the specific product.
For example, the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA) has provided third-party EPDs for polyiso showing that over a building’s lifespan, polyiso has 47x energy savings when compared to the energy required for the following processes:
Initial manufacturing
Transportation to job sites
Lifetime maintenance
Decommissioning and disposal
LEED-Certified Products
LEED credits worksheets, provided by manufacturers, are another way to understand how a building material can impact the environment for the better. These documents name the sustainable category and give a description of how the material meets the LEED requirements. Sustainable building insulation will typically possess the potential to meet the following LEED credits:
Energy & Atmosphere Credit (EA)
Materials & Resources Credit (MR)
Environmental Quality Credit (EQ)
More Considerations for Finding Sustainable Insulation Solutions
According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), when shopping around for the best sustainable insulation for your project, the primary factors to consider are the following:
R-value per inch (Higher is better)
Limited or no toxins or VOCs
Recycled content
Low emissions
Low energy required to manufacture (embodied energy)
Sustainable sourcing of raw materials
End of life disposal options including recycling or reusing
You can identify products that qualify by locating ecolabels, including certifications such as Intertek Clean Air for indoor air quality, GREENGUARD for chemical emissions, and ENERGY STAR® for energy efficiency.
Types of Sustainable Insulation
Insulation materials that rank high on the sustainability scale include rockwool, concrete, and polyisocyanurate. Polyiso is one of the most sustainable insulation materials in board form because it boasts the following properties:
High thermal efficiency (High R-Value)
Zero ozone depletion potential
High recyclable content
Negligible global warming potential
Examples of less sustainable insulation products include styrofoam, fiberglass, and spray foam, which can have a negative impact on the environment in terms of ozone depletion, hazardous materials, or harmful emissions.
Rmax’s Commitment to Sustainable Thermal Insulation
Rmax is a leader in the industry when it comes to shifting toward more sustainable practices in the construction industry, including the manufacturing of more environmentally-friendly building materials.
As evidence to this claim, Rmax polyiso products currently meet several criteria for LEED credits. The majority come from enhanced energy performance offered by polyiso products. One earning possibility even includes innovative solutions, such as the Rmax® ECOMAXci® Wall Solution that acts as an air, water, vapor, thermal and hygrothermal barrier all-in-one.
Read more about the company’s sustainable design initiatives and reach out to your local Rmax representative to find sustainable insulation solutions for your next project!