LCA & material health results & interpretation EcoBatt® and EcoRoll® Insulation
Evaluation programs
Declare
Declare labels are issued to products disclosing ingredient inventory, sourcing and end of life options. Declare labels are based on the Manufacturers Guide to Declare, administered by the International Living Future Institute.
How it works
Material ingredients are inventoried and screened against the Living Building Challenge (LBC) Red List which represents the ‘worst in class’ materials, chemicals, and elements known to pose serious risks to human health and the greater ecosystem.
The Health Product Declaration®
The HPD Open Standard provides a consistent, and transparent format to accurately disclose the material contents and associated hazard classifications for a building product.
How it works
Material ingredients are screened and categorized according to the hazards that international governmental bodies and toxicology experts have associated with them, based on two listings:
- Authoritative lists maintained or recognized by government bodies
- Screening lists, which include chemicals that government bodies determined need further scrutiny, as well as chemical lists not recognized by any government body.
Assessment scope and results
Declare™
Inventory threshold: 100ppm
Declare level:
The Declare product database and label are used to select products that meet the LBC's stringent materials requirements, streamlining the materials specification and certification process.
Click the label to see the full declaration.
EcoBatt® Unfaced |
EcoBatt® Kraft Faced |
EcoBatt® Foil Faced |
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Health Product Declaration®
EcoBatt® (FSK Faced)
Full disclosure known hazards: Yes
Based on the selected content inventory threshold:
- Characterized
- Screened
- Identified
GreenScreen® List Translator Scores
- List Translator Likely Benchmark 1 / Benchmark 1An LT-1 chemical score is based on lists that identify it as a Chemical of High Concern.
- List Translator Possible Benchmark 1An LT-P1 chemical score translates to Possible BM1 and reflects the presence of the chemical on Screening A or B lists and some uncertainty about the classification for key endpoints. Further research is needed on the flagged endpoint to determine if the chemical is indeed a GreenScreen Benchmark 1.
- List Translator Benchmark UnknownAn LT-U chemical score indicates that there is insufficient information to apply the GreenScreen Benchmark Scoring algorithm to the chemical. That can be a good sign. Typically, only hazardous chemicals are found on hazard lists. However, lack of presence on hazard lists can also mean that the chemical has not been well tested. A full GreenScreen assessment will need to be performed to determine if a chemical is a Benchmark 2, 3 or 4.
- Benchmark 2Prefer-safer chemical.
- Benchmark 3Prefer-safer chemical.
- Benchmark 4Prefer-safer chemical.
- No GS data availableNo data available on List Translator lists.
Total VOC Content
Total Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) content for liquid/wet applied products. VOCs get released into the air as the wet applied products dry. VOCs can cause acute symptoms, including headaches and dizziness.VOC Content data is not applicable for this product category.
What's in this product and why
Declare level
Unfaced and kraft faced products do not have Red List chemicals. The Red List is a list of chemicals that are not allowed in Living Building Challenge buildings. Being Red List free is our design benchmark at Knauf Insulation North America.
EcoBatt utilizes a bio-based binder chemistry derived from corn that is formaldehyde-free and more interior friendly than phenol-formaldehyde (P/F) systems. This product transformed the industry, moving away from P/F systems and toward bio-based binder adhesive systems for wall and ceiling batt products.
What's in the product and why
The ingredients of most EcoBatt® variants avoid the 800+ chemicals of the Living Building Challenge Red List. This is primarily because of its bio-based binder adhesive chemistry known as ECOSE® Technology. ECOSE is based on dextrose or high fructose corn syrup instead of phenol and formaldehyde. Dextrose and fructose can be used interchangeably. The ECOSE binder allows the product to be validated by the UL Environment as formaldehyde-free. Formaldehyde is a Red List chemical.
EcoBatt Products with foil scrim kraft (FSK) facers do not meet Red List free status because the facer contains a halogenated fire retardant (HFR).
Red List free is our development benchmark and we constantly challenge ourselves on elimination of Red List chemicals. An HFR is used on the FSK variant because the product is for exposed applications and must meet stringent fire performance requirements.
We are very aware of the concerns associated with HFRs and continually work with vendors on this issue. At the same time, fire performance is critical and current events relating to fire performance of building materials only support the importance of fire-safe products.
What's been done in the design and manufacture in consideration of the potential human health impacts in the use stage
The primary ingredient in this product is recycled glass. While recycled content may vary from year to year, the recycled content is currently greater than 60% by weight. The second largest content is silica sand which is sourced as locally as possible. The third largest ingredient is corn-based syrup (dextrose or fructose). As a result of using plant-based binders, the VOC profile of this product is very interior friendly.
The emission from our factories is also much better for our communities. We ensure our glass formulations have no serious health concerns by allowing our processes to be audited to meet European Certification Board for Mineral Wool Products (EUCEB) biosolubility requirements.
Where it goes at the end of its life
At this time, the product is landfilled at end of life. We take extended producer responsibility very seriously and have active programs to address end of life. There is no option other than landfills at this time.
How we're making it healthier
Knauf engages very closely with its vendors to eliminate and avoid chemicals of concern. No competitor has as many Red List free products as Knauf Insulation. We continually reduce our environmental impacts through recycled content and optimize our products by designing them to be transformative.
See how we make it greenerReferences
ECOBATT UNFACED
ECOBATT KRAFT FACED
KNAUF ECOBATT(R) FOIL FACED BATTS & ROLLS
Manufacturer's Guide to Declare
A comprehensive guide providing information about the program, the assessment methodology, how to submit material data to obtain a Declare label and how they are used to meet the Health & Happiness and Materials Petals of the Living Building Challenge.
Health Product Declaration®
EcoBatt (FSK Faced)
Health Product Declaration Open Standard v2.2
The standard provides guidance to accurately disclose the material contents of a building product using a standard, consistent, and transparent format.
SM Transparency Report (EPD) ™ + Material Health Overview ™
- VERIFICATION LCA
- 3rd-party verified
- Transparency Report (EPD)
- 3rd-party verified
Validity: 12/12/23 – 12/12/28
KNA – 12122023 – 001
- Material HealthMaterial
evaluation - Self-declared
This environmental product declaration (EPD) was externally verified by Harmony Environmental, LLC, according to ISO 21930:2017; UL Part A; UL Part B for Building Envelope Thermal Insulation Products; and ISO 14025:2006.
Harmony Environmental, LLC
16362 W. Briarwood Ct.
Olathe, KS 66062
www.harmonyenviro.com
(913) 780-3328
SUMMARY
Reference PCR
UL Part B: Building Envelope Thermal Insulation v2.0
Regions; system boundaries
North America; Cradle-to-grave
Functional unit / ESL:
1 m2 installed insulation material, packaging included, with thickness that gives average thermal resistance of RSI = 1m2·K/W over an estimated service life (ESL) of 75 years
LCIA methodology: TRACI 2.1
LCA software; LCI database
LCA for Experts v10.7; LCA for Experts 2023
In accordance with ISO 14044 and the reference PCR, this life cycle assessment was conducted by Sustainable Minds and verified by Harmony Environmental, LLC.
Public LCA:
Knauf Insulation North America and Manson Insulation Products
©2026 | The SM Transparency Report™ Program is operated by Sustainable Minds® | Privacy policy
Knauf Insulation, Inc.
One Knauf Drive
Shelbyville, IN 46176
www.knaufinsulation.us
317 398 4434
Insulation glossary
| Amount | Total amount of either square footage (SF) or lineal footage (LF) required to complete the project |
| ASJ+ - all service jacket | Aluminum foil, reinforced with a glass scrim bonded to a kraft paper interleaving with an outer film layer leaving no paper exposed. |
| BTU (British Thermal Unit) | Heat required to raise temperature of one pound of water by one degree; around the same amount of energy released by one wooden match. |
| Cavity depth | Depth of either wood or metal framing components used to determine the amount of insulation that can be installed within a given cavity. |
| Class I vapor retarder | 0.1 perm or less |
| Class II vapor retarder | 1.0 perm or less |
| Class III vapor retarder | 10 perm or less |
| Closed blow | A netted application of loosefill insulation where the net holds the insulation in place during installation and remains in place for the life of the system |
| C-value | Heat flow property, conductance, of a product at a given thickness. The lower the C, the better the insulator. |
| Density | Amount of solid material, expressed in pounds per cubic foot (PCF). |
| Emittance | Used for measuring the resistance of a material to radiative heat transfer. Typical values are 0.02 - 1, with the lower values being better radiant barriers. |
| Facer | Covering adhered to base glass mineral wool material. Used primarily as a vapor retarder, and secondarily for cleanability, color, or integral structural components. |
| FSK- foil scrim kraft | Laminate composed of thin layer of aluminum foil, glass fiber reinforcing scrim, and kraft paper. |
| Installed R-value (Duct wrap) | Laminate composed of thin layer of aluminum foil, glass fiber reinforcing scrim, and kraft paper. |
| K-value | Heat flow thickness of a homogeneous material. The lower the k, the better the insulator. |
| Open blow | Loosefill insulation with integral adhesive, directly applied to the wall cavity without need for additional netting |
| Perm | Unit of permeance of water vapor transmission where a difference in pressure exists on either side of a material or membrane (US perm = 1 grain of water vapor per hour, per square foot, per inch of mercury). |
| Pipe size | Pipe sizes are expressed in imperial units for either iron pipe (Iron Pipe Size - IPS) or copper tube size (CTS) |
| PSK- poly scrim kraft | String reinforced polyethylene kraft facing. |
| R-value | Ability of material, or building section to retard heat flow. The higher the R, the better the insulator. |
| U-value | Heat flow property of an entire building section. The lower the U, the better the insulating value. |
| Vapor retarder | Thin layer of material varying in permeance, included in building construction to slow moisture migration. Vapor retarders are split into three classes. |