LCA & material health results & interpretation EcoBatt® batts and rolls

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: 100 ppm

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.

LBC Red List Free This product does not contain any ingredients on the LBC Red List.

LBC Compliant This product meets the requirements of the LBC Red List Imperative due to a temporary exception.

Declared This product has voluntarily self-disclosed all ingredients in order to promote transparency.

Click the label to see the full declaration.

EcoBatt® Kraft Faced

EcoBatt® Unfaced

EcoBatt® Foil

Health Product Declaration®

EcoBatt® Foil-Scrim-Kraft (FSK) Faced

Inventory threshold: 100 ppm

Full disclosure known hazards: Yes

Based on the selected content inventory threshold:

  • Characterized
  • Screened
  • Identified

What's in this product and why

Declare level

Unfaced and kraft faced EcoBatt® have no 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. 

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 with foil scrim kraft (FSK) facer does not meet Red List free status because the facer contains a halogenated fire retardant (HFR). This is why we disclose the ingredients in an HPD rather than Declare used for all other product variants. 

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 greener

References

Declare
EcoBatt® Kraft Faced 
EcoBatt® Unfaced
EcoBatt® Foil

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® Foil-Scrim-Kraft (FSK) Faced

Health Product Declaration Open Standard v2.1
The standard provides guidance to accurately disclose the material contents of a building product using a standard, consistent, and transparent format.

Rating systems

LEED BD+C: New Construction | v4 - LEED v4
Building product disclosure and optimization
Material Ingredients

  • Credit value options 1 product each

  • 1. Reporting

    2. Optimization

    3. Supply Chain Optimization

Living Building Challenge 3.0
Materials petals imperatives

  • 10. Red List Free

    12. Responsible Industry

    13. Living Economy Sourcing

Well Building Standard®
Air and Mind Features

  • Air, 26. Enhanced Material Safety

  • Mind, 97. Material Transparency

    Mind, 98. Organizational Transparency

Collaborative for High Performance Schools National Criteria
MW 10.1 — Building Product Health Related Information Reporting

  • Product Health Related Information Report 1 point