Among the most notable recent breakthroughs in sustainable insulation materials...

Eco Print Earth 3 years ago

Among the most notable recent breakthroughs in sustainable insulation materials is Swiss-made @gramitherm_grassinsulation The company behind the new material has developed a unique production process that transforms grass into highly effective insulation. . Gramitherm sources its raw material from local farmers, and the company is committed to using all parts of the plant, including the juice. Fibres are extracted from the grass and dried before being opened and thermobonded into semi-rigid boards – a product that is light, strong, and environmentally friendly. These insulation boards are suitable for a variety of applications, and the digestible materials leftover from the production process are used for animal food and fertiliser. . . The company chose grass as a raw material as it is a highly efficient thermal insulator with an estimated lifetime of at least 50 years. The panels are also an efficient means of storing the carbon dioxide captured by the grass during its lifetime. In fact, Gramitherm’s insulation captures 1.5 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogramme of product. . The company claims that its manufacturing process uses only 75 per cent of the energy and less than 70 per cent of the water it takes to manufacture glass wool insulation. One acre of grass can yield 200 metres cubed of Gramithem, enough to insulate seven family houses. And if 1,000 acres of land were used to grow Gramithem, it would supply 5 per cent of Switzerland’s insulation market. . . . . Please Share your thoughts about this innovation in comments. . Source - Springwise @eco.medy . #planetorplastic #plasticfreeoceans #oceanplastic #sustainableinnovation #greentechnology #sustainablehousing #climatechangeisreal #lesswaste #wastefreeplanet #environmentallyfriendly #climateaction #noplanetb #reducewaste #zerowastelife #fridaysforfuture #covidwaste #plasticfreelife #plasticfreeoceans #stopanimalcruelty #ecofriendlylifestyle #climatechangeisreal #savethebees #ecofriendlyproducts #ecofootprintearth

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 5 hours ago



The strongest signals for sustainable construction this week centre on capacity, climate resilience and reuse rather than headline-grabbing products. The UK government’s Capacity to Build programme, designed to support councils with housebuilding pipelines and construction skills, reinforces a critical point: net zero carbon buildings and low carbon design depend on local planning capability, procurement expertise and deliverable sites, not targets alone.

Skills are becoming a decisive constraint for environmental sustainability in construction. Great British Energy’s launch in Aberdeen, with funding to help young people and oil-and-gas workers move into renewable sectors, shows that decarbonising the built environment relies on labour mobility as much as innovation. Offshore wind, grid upgrades, heat networks, retrofit and energy-efficient buildings are competing for the same technical workforce, making green construction delivery a capacity challenge.

Climate risk is sharpening the case for sustainable building design. Warnings that a developing El Niño may be among the strongest on record, with the WHO urging immediate action to reduce health impacts, should push designers and clients towards whole life carbon assessment, lifecycle assessment and life cycle thinking in construction. Overheating, flood exposure, ventilation, shading and resilient public realm now sit at the core of building lifecycle performance and life cycle cost.

The Barbican renewal strengthens the argument for refurbishment, circular economy in construction and end-of-life reuse in construction. Adaptive reuse is technically demanding and politically visible, but it is central to cutting embodied carbon and the carbon footprint of construction. New-build schemes will still attract attention, yet the larger sustainability gains will come from circular construction strategies, sustainable material specification, low embodied carbon materials and robust assessment of embodied carbon in materials.

Sustainable construction is moving from showcase projects to institutional delivery. Whole life carbon, net zero whole life carbon, resource efficiency in construction and low carbon construction materials are becoming essential measures of value. The sector’s next test is whether councils, developers and public bodies can turn sustainable building practices into scalable delivery for a hotter, lower-carbon century.

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