Development for the good of the environment
The keywords of Finnfoam’s development operations are energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. Finnfoam has prepared a materials document that includes the material properties of all Finnfoam products for the most commonly used environmental classification systems: LEED and BREEAM. The document can be used directly for the verification of criteria provided by the global environmental classification systems. Finnfoam products are also generally approved for use in projects that carry the Nordic Ecolabel.
Finnfoam has made investments in the use of renewable energy in all areas of its production including, among other things, the construction of a solar power station. In addition, recycled gas is used as propellant in the production of Finnfoam thermal insulation products: the carbon dioxide used is waste produced by other plants, which means that it does not create additional environmental burden.
At Finnfoam, waste is sorted and recycled. Combustible waste is delivered to a waste incineration plant, paper to paper recycling, metal waste to metal recycling, etc.
The thermal insulation products manufactured by Finnfoam have a long life-cycle. After use, the raw materials can be recovered and reused or burned as combustible waste.
Environmental Management System
As an indication of our level of environmental responsibility, Finnfoam has implemented a certified and audited ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)
An Environmental Product Declaration (RTS EPD) is prepared for each Finnfoam product. EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) is a voluntary, standardized method for presenting essential, verified, and comparable information on the environmental impact of building materials in a reliable manner.
Life-cycle thinking is increasingly used to assess the environmental impact of construction projects. In the selection of construction materials, the environmental impact of the production and use of the materials, as well as the post-use impact, including the sourcing of the raw materials constitutes an important criterion. With the RTS EPDs, designers, developers, and contractors are better positioned to understand the environmental issues related to construction materials.
History of our development
In 1988, Finnfoam Oy became the first manufacturer in the world to replace the CFC compounds used in the production of XPS panels with HCFC compounds. The environmental impact of a HCFC propellant is approximately 5% of that of CFC compounds. In 1991, development began to find a more environmentally friendly replacement for the HCFC propellant. The development led to a breakthrough in 1998, as the first Finnfoam thermal insulation panels produced using carbon dioxide emerged from the production line. Over the next year, all production lines were converted to use the new propellant. Finnfoam Oy was thus the first XPS insulation manufacturer in the world to eliminate HCFC compounds in production. The production of Finnfoam XPS insulation products has been completely HFC free since 2002.
