Insulation

22
Product Design & Material Inputs
(What raw materials are used)
Context
Kingspan Insulation’s products consist of two
material components: chemicals used to form the
insulating material, plus facings used to cover the
surface of the material. Information concerning the
precise nature and quantity of inputs is confidential,
however the table below outlines the nature of
materials used for the two categories of insulation
board manufactured.
In recognition of the environmental impacts
associated with the chemicals industry, the
company’s Environmental Purchasing Policy and
Resource Use Policy state that every effort will be
made to replace all or part of the base chemical
inputs with materials derived from waste streams
from other chemical or production processes, by
utilising other recyclable waste, or from sources with
an otherwise lower environmental impact.
The company is continually looking for opportunities
to utilise re–used or recycled materials in the
production process, where they will not compromise
product quality.
The extent of environmental impacts mitigated
through product innovation has not been quantified,
but Kingspan Insulation is proud of the achievements
made to date and remains committed to minimising
negative impacts and optimising the lifetime
performance of products and production processes.
Product type
Therma Kooltherm ®
Chemical Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate Phenolic resin; Blowing
Inputs (MDI); Polyol; Catalyst; Surfactant; agent; Catalyst; Other
Blowing agent; Other proprietary proprietary ingredients
ingredients
Facings Various facing materials, incl. aluminium, paper, glass
fibres, cork, fibreboard, etc.
Historical Achievements & Ongoing Activities
l The company’s products have a long life cycle and minimal maintenance requirements.
l In 2002, Kingspan Insulation became the first insulation manufacturer, and the third manufacturer from any sector, to undertake a
BRE certified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Kingspan Insulation has maintained continuous certification of its Therma TM range since
then.
l LCAs, certified by BRE Certification to the 2008 BRE Environmental Profiling Methodology, have been completed for the vast majority
of the company’s Kooltherm, KoolDuct and Therma insulation products, manufactured at Pembridge and Selby. All products profiled
received a certified BRE 2008 Green Guide Summary Rating of A+ or A.
l The company has been successful in persuading some of its suppliers to produce independent LCA data for its raw materials.
Information about the impacts of manufacture and product safety datasheets are available to customers on request.
l Use of recycled aluminium facings for boards has been explored but proved unviable as the performance was of insufficient quality.
l Research and testing has been carried out to increase the proportion of renewable materials in products. The use of a polyol derived
from cashew nut oil was investigated. However, a Life Cycle Assessment of the polyol showed it to have higher environmental impact
than that which it would replace, so it was not progressed. A by-product from paper manufacturing was also investigated as a
replacement raw material. Whilst it held promise, the supplier was not willing / able to commit the capital to manufacture in sufficient
scale.
l Trials of waste insertion technology to feed production waste back into the production cycle have proved successful.
l Clear targets have been adopted for the downcycled / recycled / renewable content of products.
l Use of solvent–based adhesives in manufacturing has been abolished, replaced by hot melt glue and moisture–cured urethane
adhesives.
l Both Pembridge and Selby have achieved Chain of Custody (CoC) Certification for the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest
Certification (PEFC) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). All timber and timber products procured are PEFC or FSC Certified.
l All office paper has been switched to 100% recycled paper, and marketing print uses paper that is FSC certified from mixed sources.
l Lifecycle environmental impacts of marketing materials are taken into account.
l Supplier engagement is completed to gather relevant data for product life cycle assessment (LCA).
2014 Performance Highlights
Research and testing has continued to investigate increasing the proportion of renewable materials in products. During 2014 a new
polyol was brought into production in Selby for PIR products; made from recycled plastic drink bottles this has increased the amount of
recycled material in the Therma range manufactured at this production facility. There is an intention to widen the use of this polyol to other
manufacturing plants in the future.
During 2014 work has progressed into developing thinner insulation products that provide the same or better thermal performance with a
thinner insulation board.
Kingspan TEK 172 was launched in November, the thicker SIPs panels allowing out of the box compliance with Building Regulations /
Standards without any need for further insulation.
Materials used in the manufacture of Kingspan Insulation’s products
Relevant GRI Indicators
EN2
Percentage of materials used that are recycled
input materials.
EN26 Initiatives to mitigate environmental impacts
of products & services.
NB See Appendix A for background to GRI.