Activities
SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION
Sustainable construction offers a triple win: for building owners /users, for the environment and for industry. PU (PUR/PIR) insulation can play a vital role in achieving sustainable buildings – it is highly thermally efficient and extremely durable, saving more than 100 times more energy in use than was needed for its production, and it can offer multiple benefits in all three ‘pillars’ of sustainability:
- Environmental – through climate change mitigation
- Economic – reducing energy bills and import dependency
- Social – local job creation and increased comfort
PU Europe fully supports initiatives that promote sustainable construction, including greater transparency through the development of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)
However, the current plethora of initiatives at national level may lead to over-complication and fragmentation of the single matket, thus creating unnecessary costs without clear EU benefits.
PU Europe’s vision is to achieve a single and holistic European building assessment scheme which addresses all three pillars of sustainability. CEN/TC 350 has developed the tools for such building assessments and industry provides environmental data through product EPDs. The CEN standards correctly stipulate that product assessments can only take place in the context of a specific building design solution. All European environmental initiatives addressing buildings should adopt this standardised approach.
(Infographics also available in: ES)
Position papers
PU Europe factsheets
PU Europe reports
- Environmental Product Declaration: Double steel sheet faced sandwich panel with a core made of polyurethane (density 42 kg/m3; thickness 11.5 cm) (June 2014)
