Wood fibre insulation can be used to insulate the walls, floors and roof in mainstream homes, and is available in either air-injected or rigid board form. Comprised of around 80% wood fibre, this naturally derived raw material comes from PEFC-certified forests. Insulants such as wood fibre are often seen as suitable for projects whose main focus is sustainability but that is changing fast. With the government’s target for the UK to become net zero by 2050, there’s an increasing pressure on housebuilders to play their part in reducing the embodied carbon of new homes.
EMBODIED CARBON
Embodied carbon is currently unregulated, even though it makes up 20% of the UK’s built environment emissions. However, there is growing talk of legislation being introduced to regulate embodied carbon – and the construction industry has already drafted a potential Approved Document known as ‘Part Z’.
When developers need to determine the carbon contribution of construction materials as a measure of their sustainability, they look at each product’s
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Due to its composition, wood fibre insulation can contribute to climate protection, making it a viable option when looking to reduce embodied carbon. Its insulation properties also help increase the energy efficiency of a building and reduce its associated carbon emissions.
MITIGATE OVERHEATING
With hotter summers, the risks of overheating are increasing. In 2021, a new Approved Document (Part O) was introduced into the building regulations to start to address overheating issues when constructing newbuild homes.
According to the Met Office, record-breaking weather is now the norm in the UK so it is likely that further revisions of Part O will become more prescriptive to try to meet the overheating threat.
Wood fibre insulation doesn’t just keep the heat in during the colder months. It can also help to keep heat out during hot summer days and evenings. Characterised by a high raw density, it can offer greater resistance to heat radiation due to its higher heat storage capacity.
REDUCING WASTE
A huge amount of waste is generated by construction. Government data shows that in 2020, an estimated 59.4 million tonnes of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste was generated. Of this, around 55 million tonnes were recovered, with the rest going to landfill at considerable cost to the housebuilder.
In fact, construction waste can cost up to 10 times more than a company expects. Research in 2023 suggested that the expected cost of an eight-yard skip was around £300, but in fact the true cost was closer to £1,900. It’s not surprising that housebuilders need comprehensive plans to reduce site waste.
MOISTURE CONTROL
Control of moisture in buildings is a requirement of ‘Approved Document C: Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture’ of the building regulations. The document references the standard BS 5250:2021 Management of moisture in buildings.
Wood fibre insulation materials are diffusion open, allowing water vapour to safely pass through the material. Vapour control layers (VCLs) are used to help control the level of internal moisture entering the building fabric.
INDOOR AIR QUALITY
As we spend 90% of our time indoors, it’s important that indoor environments promote health and wellbeing. There is a pressure on housebuilders to ensure that new stock does not suffer the same fate as existing stock in the future.
Due to its density and composition, wood fibre insulation helps to keep noise pollution out of the home. Dense batts are used to insulate between timber studs, joists or rafters. These reduce the risks of gaps in the building fabric that can lead to cold spots and condensation issues. This helps to maintain the thermal integrity of the insulation layer.
CHAMPION COLLABORATION AND ACCURACY
National interior building products distributor CCF has joined forces with manufacturer supply chain partners British Gypsum and Isover to highlight the growing importance of accurate carbon data within the construction supply chain.
Held at the Saint Gobain Solutions Centre in London, more than 30 main and subcontractors attended, including Construction Carbon and environmental leads from across the UK. The event was part of CCF, British Gypsum and Isover’s wider ‘Focused on Building for Good’ campaign, which promotes greater supply chain collaboration between manufacturers, suppliers, contractors and project teams.
Speakers from British Gypsum, CCF and Construction Carbon shared insights into the challenges and opportunities surrounding carbon reporting. They explored the increasing regulatory and commercial pressures on manufacturers to provide verified Environmental
Product Declarations (EPDs) and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), and the complexities involved in producing this level of detailed product information.
A key challenge highlighted was the limited availability of reliable carbon data, with many organisations still relying on generic industry averages rather than verified manufacturer information. Discussions reinforced the need for greater transparency and traceability across supply chains to enable materials to be tracked from manufacturer through to installation on site.
CCF’s Head of Customer Sustainability Solutions and Sales, Phil Monkman, outlined how the company has been working closely with subcontractors, main contractors, industry specialists and the wider Travis Perkins Group to develop CONNECT, a carbon calculation tool designed to provide more accurate reporting than anything currently available in the market.
BPC Interiors, an early adopter of the CONNECT tool, shared first-hand experience of using CONNECT and how gaining access to more accurate product data is helping them manage waste, support early project acceptance and access rebate payments linked to carbon reduction.
Monkman said: “CONNECT has been shaped in partnership with the people who will use it every day, so hearing from early adopters like BPC Interiors is invaluable. By combining verified manufacturer data from partners such as British Gypsum and Isover with CCF’s own supply chain insight, CONNECT gives contractors a clearer picture of their carbon impact and the confidence to make better informed decisions at every stage of a project.” The discussions also explored how better carbon data can support pre-construction planning, giving project teams the ability to evaluate environmental impact earlier in the design process. Carbon reporting is becoming a strategic priority for the construction sector, supporting both compliance and more sustainable project delivery. www.ccfltd.co.uk