Eco-Stage-Gate: Building Sustainability Into Product Innovation

The use of local cultivated hemp and flax in building materials contributes to the transformation to the biobased economy in North West Europe. Here the growing conditions for hemp and flax are favorable and cultivation and processing expertise is available. Despite the market potential isolated initiatives were not able to overcome the numerous challenges. Currently, only a small number of stakeholders remain with hemp and flax for use in technical applications other than in textiles. The Interreg IVb-project Grow2Build enhances the efficiency and competitiveness in the production and uses of hemp and flax based materials in building and construction. Main topics of Grow2Build: 1) facilitating the interregional and transnational product chain development through informing of and collaboration with relevant stakeholders; 2) optimization of resources quality through optimization of cultivation and processing techniques; 3) improvement of the performance of biobased building materials through product innovation;4) development of the demand through information, awareness and guidance. Besides the optimization of cultivation and processing techniques and improvement of hemp and flax biobased building materials, spreading knowledge and bringing together stakeholders will increase the demand for biobased building materials. Various communication tools are developed in the project including a Centre of Excellence and a mobile exhibition. During workshops and innovation network events various stakeholders discussed the chances and challenges for the use of hemp and flax biobased products, linking demand and supply. By sharing knowledge the following bottlenecks were identified: 1) biobased building and CO2 sustainable building may conflict with traditional building practice, thinking and culture; 2) Performance of (new) biobased building materials should be distinctive and science based; 3) main stream architectural design should be aware of the possibilities of biobased materials 4) national building regulations needs harmonization with surrounding regions for promotion and exchange of innovative biobased building products; 5) lack of investors.

According to the European targets for 2030, for managing a policy of improving the environmental sustainability of buildings it is essential to assess the buildings and building components impacts both in the construction and in the utilization phases. The use of building is essential on the environmental impacts (equal to about 90%) as consequence the commitment must be aimed at reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions of buildings during their lifetime, through correct design and proper selection of materials and technologies; above all, the use of thermal insulation materials is fundamental. A useful support tool for manufacturers and designers for the eco-design innovation of products and production processes is the LCA - Life Cycle Assessment: the assessment allows to identify and to quantify energy, consumed materials and residues released as environment impact during the processes. Comparison of the environmental impact data of the different products it is possible by adopting the EPD - Environmental Product Declarations approach, which envisages, for each group of products, the elaboration of a specific technique, the PRC - Product Category Rules. In the building sector, among the thermal insulating materials currently in use, the rigid expanded polyurethane (thermoset polymeric insulation products with a substantially closed cell structure including both polymer types based on PIR and PUR), allows to obtain excellent characteristics of very low density masses, resulting in a reduction in energy consumption deriving from transport, installation and disposal or recycling at the end of life. Numerous studies on environmental impacts during the polyurethane life cycle have shown that the amount of resources consumed for the production of polyurethane foam is amortized in the use phase of buildings thanks to the energy savings determined by thermal insulation. Very important features of polyurethane is the high durability in time (higher or equal to the life of the building). This is demonstrated following some tests of physical characterization and verification of durability of rigid polyurethane insulation panels used in different types of building and construction, without maintenance: according to the determination of thermal conductivity and of the compressive strength is proven as the values are unchanged despite the years of use (over 40 years). The paper presents the LCA evaluation of a polyurethane panel; the durability of thermal properties has been verified by experimental tests.

AlfaTech-Timmons brings an engineering philosophy of passive before active to all of its projects and works with the architect to achieve an integrated building design utilizing advanced building modeling to maximize natural resources available at the site. The integrated design approach is necessary in achieving high levels of sustainability, such as LEED-platinum certification and net zero energy, in a cost effective manner. AlfaTech-Timmons would like to present a story of two integrated building projects; Delta Product Headquarters and West Berkeley Library. Delta is a large state of the art commercial building utilizing the latest sustainable systems and West Berkeley Library is a small addition on a small budget. AT-T's presentation will show how integrated design is the path for two very different buildings to sustainability and net zero energy. The Delta Products Headquarters in Fremont, California is a three-story, 2,323 square meter office and warehouse building with primary goals to showcase Delta Products innovation in a state of the art building blending the natural surroundings with sustainable building design. AT-T's sustainable design focused on maximizing natural ventilation and daylighting, reducing water and energy consumption with a geothermal central plant, and utilizing radiant systems for primary space conditioning. AT-T conducted extensive CFD modeling to assist with sizing and locating windows around the building and their integration into a thermal tower ventilation strategy. The project also encompasses a PV system to balance energy consumption and achieve net zero energy. The West Berkeley Library aimed to achieve net zero energy on a small budget. The space is a single-story, high volume space, so AT-T's design focused on thermal tower induced natural ventilation and a radiant floor. Natural daylighting and control was also essential to reducing energy consumption. Roof mounted PV balances energy consumption.