PAVATEX HELPS REALISE UK’S SUSTAINABILITY AMBITIONS

Driven by the government’s 2050 net-zero strategy, the demand for construction projects that incorporate eco-friendly materials and practices continues to increase all over the UK. According to PCB Today, the Planning, BIM & Construction Today website, this will translate into the use of geothermal energy in the coming year, as well as the incorporation of green roofs, modular construction methods and living building materials that absorb carbon emissions, among other developments. PAVATEX wood fibre insulation, which enables carbon sequestration and is fully recyclable, is an easy way to incorporate sustainability into your project. PAVATEX IN CONTEXT In addition to the erection of zero-carbon buildings in the UK in accordance with the current sustainability policies and standards, PAVATEX helps meet other trends in the construction industry related to building performance. The need to reduce embodied impact, for one, can be met through the greater use of wood fibre insulation. Moreover, PAVATEX helps to improve indoor air quality and to manage moisture inside the building and the building fabric. Wood fibre has a thermal conductivity similar to other high-performing insulation products on the market, yet it offers additional advantages in terms of summer overheating control, moisture regulation (hygroscopicity), thermal mass, health, durability, and sustainability. CO2-NEUTRAL PRODUCTION & CO2 LOCK-UP PAVATEX is the result of a CO2-neutral production process. We use energy from solar panels to manufacture our wood fibre insulation material, as well as waste heat from a nearby papermill factory. Moreover, PAVATEX allows for carbon sequestration. Trees capture CO2 and store it as carbon. When mature specimens are harvested, their carbon is locked in the wood fibre products made from them, for the entire lifespan of the building. Increasing the amount of wood fibre insulation within the construction industry is therefore one of the simplest ways to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide, and PAVATEX can be applied to every building element – from roofs to floors and walls, both in retrofit and new build scenarios. For PAVATEX, we use only sustainably sourced wood and waste wood that is collected from various sawmills, curbing CO2 emissions both through the carbon captured and stored in our product and by offering an alternative to other, CO2-intensive insulation materials on the market. LOW-CARBON EQUIVALENT TO MINERAL WOOL PAVATEX is an interesting low-carbon equivalent to mineral fibre products – a characteristic that will become even more valuable when CO2 targets are introduced for buildings, which supporters of the principle of embodied carbon regulation are striving to achieve with Part Z. This industry-proposed amendment to the Building Regulations is supported by a wide range of industry leaders. The Part Z authors want embodied carbon emissions to be assessed on all construction projects. The goal is to limit embodied carbon emissions and introduce legislation towards mandatory reporting of carbon emissions. Part Z and its accompanying Proposed Document Z serve as a proof of concept of the necessary regulation. If Part Z is enacted, PAVATEX becomes an easy way of complying with the new UK regulation. After all, it offers a simple material change rather than a profound modification to existing construction methodologies. THE RECYCLABILITY OF WOOD FIBRE INSULATION When correctly designed, a PAVATEX system can easily be reused or used further for the same purpose, i.e., in case of rebuilding or a determination of a phase within the construction project. A selective dismantling of PAVATEX products is possible provided they are untreated (not contaminated by third-party products) and not damaged. Especially our PAVAFLEX boards, which compress to friction-fit between joists, studs and rafters, can be removed effortlessly, but the other members of the PAVATEX family can also easily be reused in a new product – making our insulation a cradle-to-cradle material. PAVATEX products are also compostable after use.

For more information on PAVATEX HELPS REALISE UK’S SUSTAINABILITY AMBITIONS talk to SOPREMA UK