ENVIRONMENTAL 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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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12.
Does
BioBased Insulation contain formaldehyde?
No.
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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
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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
