How we make it greener Earthwool® Insulation Board

Raw materials acquisition

Utilize recycled content

By leveraging recycled content, we reduce the energy required to form glass fibers.

  • We use about 10 railcars of recycled glass per day.
MANUFACTURING

Lead green chemistry efforts

Following the launch of our ECOSE® Technology in 2008, we had transformed most of our products and processes to this new technology. Using our bio-based ECOSE® Technology has removed phenol and formaldehyde from our stack emissions. This initiative not only established Knauf Insulation North America in a leadership position, but it had a transformative impact on our industry in general.

Reduce scrap generation and energy consumption

Continuous improvement is the methodology we utilize to engage the entire Knauf team in our manufacturing excellence and sustainability journey.

Knauf Insulation, comprised of Knauf Insulation North America (KINA) and Knauf Insulation Europe, Middle East, Asia, Asia Pacific (KI EMEA & APAC), share an overall global certification for ISO 45001 Health & Safety, ISO 14001 Environmental, ISO 50001 Energy, and ISO 9001 Quality through a third-party Certification Body.

Our Continuous Improvement Program, with all its tools and systems associated with it, provide a formal process where we are constantly monitoring our manufacturing and sustainability Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with an eye towards improvement. This Continuous Improvement centric management system has proven to be effective in improving our sustainability by reducing scrap generation and energy consumption.

Green manufacturing Processes

Regenerative thermal oxidizers We use regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTO) to capture and recycle much of the energy we use to cure our products. RTO is equipment used for the treatment of exhaust air. Our ovens exhaust into a ceramic heat exchange media to capture and reuse the heat in the exhausted air. Therefore, the amount of energy required to cure our product is reduced substantially.

TRANSPORTATION

Leverage compression packaging

Glass is a high modulus material, which helps to facilitate compression packaging. We compress our insulation to fit up to five times more product on every truck, thereby reducing the amount of deliveries that need to be made, which saves time and emissions from transportation.

INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE

Be confident in glass fiber's safety

In the past, a label regarding the carcinogenic potential of insulation made from glass fibers was required on all packaging. Following forty years of research, fiberglass has been exonerated entirely. Our fiberglass is comprised of fibers that are biosoluble, meaning that the fibers dissolve in the body in a short period of time and exit the body with normal bodily functions. The scrutiny fiberglass has undergone is now seen as proof of its safety.

Meet and exceed green standards

GREENGUARD certified On the forefront of indoor air quality, Knauf Insulation North America had the first GREENGUARD certified product in 2002. This achievement led us to understand the impact our formaldehyde-free products could have on the indoor environment. The formaldehyde-free claim is third party validated by UL Environment.


3rd Party UL Environmental Claim Validation
states that Knauf Insulation products manufactured in North America contain an average of 61% recycled content, consisting of 20% post-consumer and 41% pre-consumer recycled glass.

EUCEB tested Glass fiber is a widely studied building material. All of our processes and formulations are voluntarily third-party audited for compliance with the health and safety exoneration criteria for glass and rock based fiber through the European Certification Board for Mineral Wool Products (EUCEB) exoneration process. This guarantees the formulations are biosoluble and pose no health concerns. Having over 35 years of research behind its safety, fiberglass products have been thoroughly evaluated and therefore we believe it is one of the safest building materials available today.

Green building rating systems

Our products offer a vast array of potential credits for major green building rating systems, including: WELL, LEED v4, International Green Construction Code, Green Guide for Heath Care, NAHB Green Building Standard, and more.

Visit the green building rating systems page to see all the credits you can earn using Manson and Knauf Insulation products

DISPOSAL

Promote Recycling

By taking a comprehensive approach of the benefits of recycling, Knauf Insulation North America advocates and promotes local recycling initiatives as well as actively participates in state and local government policy development. In addition, as a member of the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) and Glass Recycling Coalition (GRC), we encourage regulatory and legislative initiatives that focus on glass recycling infrastructure deployment to increase the availability of post-consumer recycled glass.