LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT REPORT | SUPERBEAD
SUPERBEAD LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT energystore produces the cavity wall insulation product ‘energystore superbead®’, an expanded polystyrene (EPS) bead used across the UK. Sustainable Homes was commissioned to undertake a life cycle assessment quantifying the carbon emissions associated with superbead's manufacture and distribution. The first of its kind in the UK, this cavity wall insulation life cycle assessment (LCA) shows energystore's commitment to transparency, responsibility and high environmental performance. It sets a precedent for the building and retrofit industry, which has high embodied carbon emissions that must be recognised and reduced to enhance the sustainability of the sector. This LCA revealed that each cubic meter block of superbead emits 41kg of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (CO2e) per 12kg cubic meter block produced. Compared to other insulation studies, superbead had the lowest embodied emissions per functional unit.
METHODOLOGY To undertake this LCA, Sustainable Homes collected data from energystore on volumes of expanded polystyrene (EPS) processed, energy used in factories and transportation distances of both the raw material and the manufactured product. Publically available data was used to estimate emissions from raw material processing. Due to a lack of data availability, extraction and disposal stages were excluded. The image below shows the areas of focus in the study. To compare superbead's performance with other cavity wall insulation products, Sustainable Homes undertook a literature review of insulation product LCAs in Europe.
Included in Life Cycle Assessment Data from
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Extraction
Raw material production
Raw material transport
Manufacturing Installation
Energystoreltd_superbead_lifecycleassessment_2018_v1
data
Use
Disposal