Following a spate of government U-turns on sustainability, William Bown of SuperFOIL argues this will make high-performance insulation more important than ever.
Net zero by 2050 was always going to be a steep hill to climb. As a commitment, it was extremely necessary, and it’s one I fully support. But the government’s recent reversals on environmental policy make achieving it a lot more challenging. The decision to grant licenses for new oil and gas projects in the North Sea garnered more press attention, but for those of us in construction, it was delaying the gas boiler ban that will have a bigger impact.
The built environment accounts for 40% of global carbon emissions, and the UK has the oldest, draughtiest housing stock in Europe. There’s no route to net zero that doesn’t involve drastically decarbonising Britain’s buildings. In the millions more houses that will now be built with gas boilers, other elements will have to work even harder to compensate. That’s going to make quality insulation more important than ever.
At SuperFOIL, we passionately believe that our multifoil insulation – made from 40% recycled materials, installable with no specialist tools, capable of achieving any U-value, and fully recyclable after a 50 year lifespan – has a crucial part to play in decarbonising Britain’s housing stock.
I’m proud to say that, despite these government reversals, the SuperFOIL team are rapidly implementing policies to bring greater sustainability to our own business, and playing a vital role in building the eco-friendly housing of the future.
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