Knauf Insulation glasswool with ECOSE® Technology is certified by the Declare. label

Many of the building materials found in new and old homes are not good for us. They can negatively affect indoor air quality, cause long-term health conditions, or worse. That is why we are proud to announce that our range of unfaced glasswool products are officially free from Red List materials. Our Asia Pacific customers can now find the Declare label for local glasswool products, making it even easier to select safer products, particularly for Living Building Challenge, LEED and WELL building standard projects.

Whether you are considering a Living Building Challenge project or not, by choosing Knauf Insulation glasswool and other products free from Red List materials, you are helping to create a materials economy that is non-toxic, ecologically restorative, transparent, and socially equitable.

What is the Living Building Challenge?

The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) is a not-for-profit working to build an ecologically-minded, restorative world for all people. ILFI runs the Living Building Challenge, which is said to be the world’s most rigorous green building standard.

Living Buildings strive for net-zero or net-positive energy, are free of toxic chemicals, and have an energy footprint many times below that of generic commercial structures. To be certified under the Challenge, projects must meet a series of ambitious performance requirements over a minimum of 12 months of continuous occupancy.

What is Declare?

Among the Living Building Challenge imperatives is the removal of building materials known to be responsible for adverse environmental issues, including personal illness, habitat and species loss, pollution, and resource depletion. Enter Declare, a labelling system that provides consumers easy-to-read product information, and crucially, compliance with the Institute’s Red List Imperative.

Declare is an ingredients list for building materials. Here’s what you can expect from Knauf Insulation glasswool.

Download here.

What is the Red List?

The Red List is a compilation of the “worst in class” substances that have been designated harmful to health by international health organisations and centralised in a list by sustainable building experts of the International Living Future Institute. These commonly used chemicals are polluting the environment, bio-accumulating up the food chain, and harming construction and factory workers.

There are several hundred individual chemicals on the Red List, with notable classes including asbestos compounds, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), formaldehyde (added), halogenated flame retardants, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury.

Knauf Insulation glasswool: Free of unhealthy ingredients

To achieve the Declare label, Knauf Insulation has disclosed the entire composition of its glasswool products. Our glasswool insulation is manufactured using up to 80% recycled content, mainly used bottles and jars collected locally from household waste. Another key factor in achieving Declare “Red List Free” status is ECOSE^® Technology, Knauf Insulation’s unique bio-based binder, which contains no added formaldehyde or phenol – substances which feature on the Declare Red List.

In addition to Declare, Knauf Insulation glasswool is certified to the highest Eurofins Gold standard for indoor air comfort. This demonstrates compliance with all relevant VOC-related requirements in Europe and beyond. For more information on Knauf Insulation’s product sustainability and safety credentials, please visit our website.