WE’RE SERIOUS ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
At the end of 2023, KORE updated its Environmental Product Declarations to account for increased energy savings during the manufacturing process of Expanded Polystyrene. Through process innovation, investments in energy upgrades and the drive to constantly do better, our low carbon EPS now has a negative global warming potential, while our standard material now achieves up to 77% better performance than our competitors.
Better performance than the competition
With improvements to our EPD based on our manufacturing process
Reduction in embodied carbon
For the KORE Insulated Foundation System when compared to a traditional strip foundation
Reduction in cradle-to-grave embodied carbon
For KORE Fill compared to a PIR-insulated cavity wall
THIS ISN’T JUST ABOUT INSULATION
It’s about creating a sustainable, more eco-friendly way for you to design and build.
We see seismic shifts ahead of us. These changes will reshape how the construction industry works, and how performance is measured.
We’ve spent years quietly preparing for these changes, innovating our products and adapting how we serve our customers to ensure they are ready for the future.
Our Vision: Investing Carbon Wisely
We’re not perfect, we can’t eliminate carbon entirely. Embodied carbon is a significant factor in the manufacture of our products.
We balance this by pushing them to perform better, doing more with less impact, reducing embodied carbon wherever we can and always improving operational performance.
Easing Customers into a Low Carbon Environment
Right now, we’re focused on providing you with the answers and information you need. We’ve already built up enough momentum to bring our customers with us, through this period of massive change. Learn more about EPS & the Environment.
Designing for Performance, Not Just Compliance
Optimising product performance, thermal and structural, is already second nature to KORE’s business. Now, we need to think beyond marginal gains.
Immediately, this means reducing the embodied carbon involved in our manufacturing process and retooling our production line.
However, doing our best requires us to imagine the challenges of the world 60 years ahead, based on the things that we know now.
By attempting to predict these demands, we can attempt to reverse engineer a solution that will help to make a better built environment.
At KORE, we’re focused on helping you design for performance, not just compliance. It’s thinking about a building as a system – and we’re here to support your journey to a more sustainable future.
View our third-party verified Environmental Product Declarations below to learn more about the performance of EPS:
- Download KORE Insulation Environmental Product Declaration for EPS70 →
- Download KORE Insulation Environmental Product Declaration for EPS100 →
- Download KORE Insulation Environmental Product Declaration for EPS150 →
- Download KORE Insulation Environmental Product Declaration for EPS200/300 →
- Download KORE Insulation Environmental Product Declaration for KORE Fill →
KORE Fill Cavity Wall Insulation Achieves More Than a 15% Reduction in Cradle-to-Grave Embodied Carbon Emissions Compared to a PIR-Insulated Cavity Wall
This is entirely due to a significant reduction in the embodied carbon KORE Fill over PIR insulation in the cradle-to-factory gate phase (module A1-A3).
The loose bead KORE Fill insulation comes to 1.5 t CO2e, versus 4.3t for the PIR insulation assessed – a 65% reduction.
In the absence of data for the glue to bond the bead, proxy data from a leading construction adhesive was identified. This would only add a negligible amount – an additional 28 kg CO2e.
It’s also a remarkable finding in that materials such as concrete blocks, which tend to be considered as among the most polluting construction materials on the market, are only marginally higher embodied carbon than the insulation, in the case of the PIR variant assessed.
While the 53.26m3 of blocks used to build the inner and outer leafs of the cavity wall had an A1-A3 total of 5t CO2e, the 32.43 m3 of PIR insulation totalled 4.3t CO2e.
This indicates that as insulation levels increase, the selection of insulants with low relative embodied carbon scores will become an increasingly important factor in the whole building embodied carbon results.
It’s worth adding that this analysis may be erring on the conservative side, as insulation waste has not been considered. Further analysis could include offcuts of PIR insulation, versus any wasted bonded bead insulation.
Furthermore, if future analysis were to broaden out to consider B6 (operational energy use) too, and to take account of accuracy of how insulation is installed, this may have significant impacts on whole life carbon totals.
Learn more about the benefits of KORE Fill that go beyond the embodied carbon.
|
Life Cycle Stage |
Cavity Wall PIR (KG CO2e/m2 GIA) |
Cavity Wall KORE Fill (KG CO2e/m2 GIA) |
| A1-A3 | 49.4 | 38.9 |
| A4 | 8.1 | 8.1 |
| B1-B5 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| C1-C4 | 10.9 | 10.9 |
| Total | 69.3 | 58.8 |
The KORE Insulated Foundation System Achieves a 31.5% Reduction in Cradle-to-Grave Emissions, Compared to a PIR-Insulated Traditional Foundation
Similarly, in the case of the traditional foundation, an 8.3% reduction was achieved by simply switching from PIR to the required thickness of KORE EPS70, a swap that would achieve the same U-value.
The Key Difference is How You Use Concrete
The KORE Insulated Foundation System scores considerably lower on embodied CO2 than both traditional foundation variants.
The reason for this is simple: the increase in embodied carbon of the insulation in the KORE Insulated Foundation System is dwarfed by the embodied carbon saving from reduced concrete use.
Perhaps counterintuitively, this is in spite of the fact that the embodied carbon of the insulation itself is higher in the KORE Insulated Foundation System than embodied carbon of its counterparts. The difference is in how the products are actually used, not the material itself.
The reason for this higher total is down to material quantities used to make the insulation product: the foundation benefits from a generous, continuous insulation layer – offering a genuinely thermal bridge-free solution with the added benefit of a thermally massive floor.
The three foundation options feature the following insulation quantities:
• The KORE Insulated Foundation System features 54.33m3 of insulation, (26.2 m3 of EPS300, and 28.1m3 of EPS100)
• The PIR-insulated traditional foundation features 20.4 m3 of competing PIR insulation
• The EPS-insulated traditional foundation system features 28.6 m3 of KORE EPS70 Silver insulation
| Life Cycle Stage |
Traditional Foundation + PIR (KG CO2e/m2 GIA) |
Traditional Foundation + KORE EPS70 Silver (KG CO2e/m2 GIA) |
KORE Insulated Foundation System (KG CO2e/m2 GIA) |
| A1-A3 | 57.6 | 52.5 | 41.2 |
| A4-A5 | 12.5 | 10.3 | 7.6 |
| B1-B5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| C1-C4 | 17.9 | 17.9 | 11.6 |
| Total | 88.1 | 80.8 | 60.3 |
Be mindful of how you read the charts
At first glance, the graphs and tables for the foundation variants may appear incomplete, as they feature module A1-A3 (cradle to factory gate), A4-A5 (transport to site and construction emissions) and module C (end of life) emissions – but not module B (use phase). The reason for this is that all three foundation variants were considered to release no emissions during the use phase, due to the lack of a need for maintenance, repair or replacement of components.
Where KORE users will find the greatest benefit
The main embodied carbon benefit offered by the KORE Insulated Foundation System occurs in the cradle to factory gate (A1-A3) phase. Excluding insulation material and insignificant elements such as damp proof course, pipe connections, etc, the traditional foundation system variants are responsible for 12 tonnes of CO2e in the A1-A3 phase, including:
– 8.8t of CO2 e from in situ poured concrete and screed
– 1.4t from load-bearing blockwork
– 0.3t CO2 e from autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks
– 1t CO2 e from aggregate
– 0.5t from reinforcing fabric mesh
A massive 56% reduction in cradle-to-factory gate (A1-A3) emissions
The KORE Insulated Foundation System results in a 56% reduction in cradle-to-factory gate (A1-A3) emissions on the concrete, reinforcement, and aggregate-related elements in the traditional foundations.
All in, the concrete, reinforcement, and aggregate in the KORE systems adds up to 5.3t CO2 e which breaks down as follows: – 3.5t CO2 e from concrete – 0.7t CO2 e from aggregate – 1t from rebar While the key to such significant emission reductions is the reduction of concrete, the simple substitution of PIR in the traditional foundation system for KORE EPS does offer meaningful embodied carbon reductions.
The sole difference in the case of the two traditional foundation variants is the substitution of PIR insulation for KORE EPS70.
In spite of the increase of material used – from 20.4 m3 to 28.6 m3, taking account of thicker insulation to the floor and upstands of walls to achieve equivalent thermal performance, the EPS70 variant benefits from the substantially lower embodied carbon of KORE EPS70. This is reflected in A1-A3 totals of 2.68t CO2 e for the PIR, versus 1.34t CO2 e for the EPS 70 – A 50% reduction.
Learn more about the benefits of the KORE Insulated Foundation System that go beyond embodied carbon and see how our clients are designing for performance, not just compliance. We’re ready to take you on a new sustainable, high-performance journey with KORE – are you?
(For more information about the scope, methodology and assumptions, please reach out to our team directly.)