Insulated metal panel manufacturer Kingspan has stamped its claim as a leader in the healthy building market in North America with the recent GREENGUARD Gold certification of its products. The certification took effect Aug. 31 for all current polyisocyanurate foam core insulation product sets in addition to all products using Kingspan’s innovative QuadCore foam technology. Kingspan is the only metal panel manufacturer in North America that offers GREENGUARD or GREENGUARD Gold Certified products.

“Kingspan was founded with a vision: to lead the way in creating energy-efficient buildings,” says Brent Trenga, Director of Building Technology for Kingspan Insulated Panels. “That vision has naturally extended to considering the health and wellbeing of those who occupy the buildings that use our products. Striving for the highest level of certification, in this case GREENGUARD Gold, was an important objective for us. Once again our technology delivered the industry-leading results Kingspan is known for around the world.”

Formerly known as GREENGUARD Children & Schools Certification, the Gold level ensures with the strictest standard of testing that products have low emissions of volatile organic compounds. GREENGUARD Gold can be applied to any structure, but the certification has proven particularly important for healthcare facilities and schools where the quality of indoor air is vital to the health of vulnerable occupants, like children and the elderly.

“The standard is strict and for good reason,” Trenga says. “In sensitive environments, like schools and hospitals, its vital that the indoor air quality is not compromised by the building materials that make up the structure.”

At the Gold level, product emissions are limited to 360 VOCs and products must meet the California Dept. of Public Health’s Standard Method for the Testing and Evaluation of Volatile Organic Chemical Emissions from Indoor Sources Using Environmental Chambers, Version 1.1 (2010) (California Section 01350).

Trenga adds that GREENGUARD Gold is recognized for certified credits in a range of sustainability rating schemes. “Products that bear the GREENGUARD Gold Certification mark can help earn credits in rating programs like the Collaborative for High Performance Schools Best Practices Manual for K-12 schools, U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system, Green Guide for Health Care, Green Globes and others,” he says.

The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute oversees the GREENGUARD Certification Program, and UL conducted the testing. Kingspan began working with UL to verify VOC emissions at the beginning of 2017. During the next eight months, Kingspan and UL looked at multiple configurations and various PVDF coatings in both current PIR and QuadCore foam cores. Working with UL, which has a century-long legacy of trust for best-in-class testing, was imperative for Kingspan in a green-washed marketplace.

“Kingspan did not want to pursue a sustainable certification that would overwhelm an industry filled with basic green statements,” says Karim Muri, Director of Marketing, North America, for Kingspan Insulated Panels. “An important part of Kingspan’s ethos has been to lead the industry in innovation and third-party certification. Pursuing the GREENGUARD stamp shows that we can provide products that are good for not just the built environment but also the human environment. We believe it will help push the insulated metal panel industry forward as a whole by raising the bar.”