Insulated metal panel manufacturer Kingspan received GreenGuard Gold certification for its current polyisocyanurate foam core insulation product sets and its products using Kingspan’s QuadCore foam technology.

“Kingspan was founded with a vision: to lead the way in creating energy-efficient buildings,” says Brent Trenga, Kingspan’s director of building technology. “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.”

The GreenGuard Gold certification, previously known as GreenGuard Children and Schools certification, confirms that products have low emissions and volatile organic compounds for suitable indoor air quality in any structure.

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

Trenga adds, “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.”

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) and emissions cannot surpass 360 volatile organic compounds.

GreenGuard Environmental Institute oversees the GreenGuard certification program and the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) conducted the testing. Kingspan has worked with UL to since the beginning of 2017 to verify volatile organic compounds emissions. `Kingspan and UL looked at multiple configurations and various polyvinylidene fluoride coatings in both current PIR and QuadCore foam cores. According to company officials, 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,” said Karim Muri, North American director of marketing for Kingspan’s insulated panels division. “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.”