Insulation and building envelopes developer, Kingspan Group, has announced the launch of its lowest-ever embodied carbon raised access floor panel, Kingspan RMG600+.
Kingspan’s new RMG600+, developed by its Data & Flooring division, has -3.04kg of CO2e (A1-A3) showing a 57 per cent reduction in embodied carbon when compared to the standard range. Independently assessed by One Click LCA, this advancement from Kingspan, can be attributed to several key factors including the procurement of low-carbon steel, a focus on renewable energy and the use of a minimum of 86 per cent recycled material.
The low-carbon steel used in Kingspan’s New RMG600+ is produced using an electric arc furnace (EAF) that uses electricity, as opposed to coke used in a traditional blast-furnace, as its energy source. Additionally, the EAF production process uses 90 per cent recycled steel.
The new product is of part of a groupwide decarbonisation strategy which includes Kingspan’s commitment to Net Zero Carbon manufacturing by 2030, a 50 per cent reduction in carbon intensity in its primary supply chain, the introduction of an internal carbon charge of €70/ tCo2 and the investment in H2 Green Steel – a company pioneering the manufacture of steel using hydrogen instead of fossil fuels.
“Existing buildings and construction are responsible for 39 per cent of annual energy and process -related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions globally. At Kingspan we aim to contribute to a net zero carbon built environment by minimising our climate – related impacts across our value chain, with the launch of our new Kingspan RMG600+ as part of our Lower Embodied Carbon range,” said Debra Smith Kingspan Data & Flooring’s Divisional Head of Sustainability.
As part of its ten-year Planet Passionate sustainability strategy and science-based targets, Kingspan said it is committed to developing solutions that will reduce the carbon footprint of buildings. Two of the targets in Planet Passionate will directly impact this by 2030: Net Zero Carbon manufacturing by 2030 and a 50 per cent reduction in carbon intensity in its primary supply chain.
Donagh Nolan, Kingspan Data and Flooring’s Divisional Operations Director added: “We have been manufacturing for 120 years and this is one of those truly important advances, which we think will be transformative both for our business and for our clients’ projects. As part of our broader sustainability commitments, we continuously enhance and upgrade our products. To deliver this, we employ a dedicated team of expert BIM (Building Information Modelling) engineers, advanced technical professionals, sustainability experts and manufacturing specialists.”
Embodied carbon in materials is however only part of the solution to dramatically reducing carbon in buildings. This can only be achieved by developing products which not only save on the operational day-to-day carbon emissions of a building, but also save on carbon during manufacturing and offer options for recycling. Kingspan said that it hopes to focus on creating products that deliver carbon reductions for buildings on all of these fronts.
