Comparative evaluation of construction insulation materials: Environmental performance across production, end-of-life, and beyond system boundaries

Abstract

The focus of this paper is to extract clear and objective information to assist specifiers in the building sector in selecting materials with a lower basic environmental impact, specifically insulation materials that form the insulating layer within the thermal envelope. For this purpose, a selection of representative materials has been made, for which information related to their Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in stages A1 to A3 (product stage), C1 to C4 (end of life stage), and D (benefits and impacts beyond the system boundary) is available through their Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) documents. To obtain the expected results, data processing and analysis related to each of the impact categories defined in EN15804 + A2 have been conducted. To carry out a complete life cycle analysis that includes other phases, it is necessary to conduct a study of the specific case, considering its unique circumstances and characteristics, including location and factors that affect different stages, such as transport and assembly. However, the stages considered in this study provide the most relevant information for decision-making, as well as estimated information if the source data for these stages are not available.