ENVIRONMENTAL RELATED FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (Click on Questions to obtain Answer) - Where is BioBased manufactured?
- Under what conditions is Soya planted and grown?
- Are trees being felled and ground cleared to make land for growing Soya for this purpose?
- What is the embodied energy of this product?
- What Efforts are you making to reduce your environmental impact?
- Is the insulation market taking Soya that would otherwise be consumed as food?
- Is it pushing the price of Soya up?
- Soya is a food. How does Econstruction reconcile using it as an insulation product imported from wherever and being sustainable?
- Do BioBased products contain polybrominated diphenyl ethers (penta-BDEs) flame retardants?
- Do BioBased products contain cyanide-based materials?
- Does BioBased Insulation support bacteria of fungal growth?
- Does BioBased Insulation contain formaldehyde?
- Since BioBased 501 is made from soybeans, does it create a problem with rodents and insects eating the insulation?
- Resource and Statistic Links
Answers 1. Where is BioBased manufactured?
It is produced in Arkansas, USA (Back to Top of Page) 2. Under what conditions is Soya planted and grown?
In the United States, soybeans are grown by farmers who sell their soybeans on the open market. These farmers sell the soybeans to soy crushers who process the soybeans into soy meal and soy oil. More soybeans are grown in the US than anywhere else in the world and approximately 2.6 billion bushels a year are harvested. They are fast and easy to grow and the soy bean roots convert nitrogen gases into nitrogen compounds in the soil. They need a lot of sun, well drained and grow between 60-75 days.(Back to Top of Page) 3. Are trees being felled and ground cleared to make land for growing Soya for this purpose?
No. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, during the past 15 years the total aggregate acreage of corn, soybeans and wheat in the United States has “tended to be very stable, consistently hovering within 5 percent of 212 million acres.” The total planted area of soybeans in the United States peaked in 2004 at 72.1 million acres. Increases in U.S. soybean acreage over the last 15 years have corresponded to declines in U.S. wheat acreage. (Back to Top of Page) 4. What is the embodied energy of this product?
The embodied energy of BioBased 501s has not yet been determined. However, there are clear environmental advantages for using soy-based polyurethane foams. Firstly, soybeans are typically planted as part of a crop rotation system to naturally reduce nitrogen fertilizer requirements for corn. Secondly, our products replace some of the petroleum polyols with soy-based polyols. A study of the environmental benefit of soy-based polyols was commissioned by the United Soybean Board and was conducted by Omni Tech International in 2004, titled “Soy vs. Petro Polyols: A Life Cycle Comparison”. This study determined that for every pound of soy polyol that replaces a pound of petroleum has a positive carbon benefit of 5.6 pounds. The study found that the overall process of soy polyol production removed 2.1 lb of CO2 from the atmosphere per lb of polyol produced. The net removal of CO2 is a result of CO2 being sequestered during the soybean agricultural phase. In contrast, petroleum polyol production added 3.5 lb of CO2 per pound of petroleum polyol produced. The difference of these two values gives the net carbon benefit of 5.6 lb per pound of soy-based polyol that replaces petroleum polyol.(Back to Top of Page) 5. What Efforts are you making to reduce your environmental impact?
Econstruction products and BioBased commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and manage its impact on the environment has recently been reinforced by its decision to become a carbon neutral organisation. All emissions associated with econstruction products imports, commuting, business travel, company vehicles and other energy uses are independently calculated in accordance with GHG protocol. These emissions are then neutralised through the purchase of carbon credits. Econstruction products will continue to review its energy efficiency as an organisation committed to making the change. (Back to Top of Page) 6. Is the insulation market taking Soya that would otherwise be consumed as food?
No. There is a production surplus of soy oil for food requirements. (Back to Top of Page) 7. Is it pushing the price of Soya up?
No. There are a variety of factors pushing soy oil prices up, which include increased farm production costs due to fuel prices and our dependency on oil which BioBased is trying to reduce, the rapid increase in bio-diesel production, and the influx of investment capital into commodities markets as a result of the downturn in the global economy. (Back to Top of Page) 8. Soya is a food. How does Econstruction reconcile using it as an insulation product imported from wherever and being sustainable?
The industrial uses of soy oil do not compete with edible soy consumption. The use of soy-based polyols in polyurethane foam insulation is clearly a sustainable alternative to the petroleum polyols. The most important edible products from soybeans are soy protein products (for human consumption) and soy meal (for animal feeds). Soy oil is first removed from soybeans as part of the food processing for these products. Soy oil has traditionally been considered a waste by-product of soy crushing. Only a fraction of soy oil is actually used for edible consumption. Examples of food products that contain soy oil include margarine, mayonnaise, cooking oils, and shortenings. (Back to Top of Page) 9. Do BioBased products contain polybrominated diphenyl ethers (penta-BDEs) flame retardants?
No. There are no penta-BDEs in any of our spay foam products. We use a combination of other flame retardants which reduce environmental and toxological risks. We avoid the use of penta-BDEs in our fire package because penta-BDEs Flame retardants were banned in Europe in 2004. (Back to Top of Page) 10. Do BioBased products contain cyanide-based materials?
No. All of the BioBased products blowing agents are water based and do not contain cyanide based materials. (Back to Top of Page) 11. Does BioBased Insulation support bacteria of fungal growth?
BioBased Insulation offers no food value, it is an inert substance; therefore it does not support bacteria or fungal growth. (Back to Top of Page) 12. Does BioBased Insulation contain formaldehyde?
No. (Back to Top of Page) 13. Since BioBased 501 is made from soybeans, does it create a problem with rodents and insects eating the insulation?
No. BioBased Insulation, is an inert substance, is pest resistant. There is absolutely no food value to the insulation (Back to Top of Page) 14. Resource and Statistic Links Below are a number of excellent resources where the statistics about soybean production and consumption can be verified. These include: “Acreage.” Agricultural Statistics Board. United States Department of Agriculture. 2007. Cr Pr 2-5 (6-07)
This report can be downloaded at:
http://www.usda.gov/nass/PUBS/TODAYRPT/acrg0607.pd Ash, M., Livezey, J., and Dohlman, E. “Soybean Backgrounder” United States Department of Agriculture. 2006. OCS-2006-01.
This report can be downloaded at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ocs/apr06/ocs200601/ Soy Stats™ 2007 at www.soystats.com
 | 
