Renovate Without the Regret With These 5 Eco-Friendly Materials
Choosing eco-friendly materials for renovation is an effective way to reduce your carbon footprint and helps make the notoriously ungreen construction industry more ecologically sound. As more eco-conscious homeowners embrace and fuel demand, the prices of sustainable building materials should go down.
Unfortunately, sustainability has been thrown around loosely, causing more confusion than clarity when comparing environmentally beneficial construction products. Understand what makes materials sustainable, and learn about the ones you should consider for your project.
What Constitutes Sustainable Materials?
Sustainable building materials have no or minimal negative impact on the environment, improve people’s quality of life and promote long-term economic viability. Ecological soundness isn’t the sole basis for sustainability, so a product can be green but unsustainable.
For example, unethically sourced lumber is a net negative. Wood is a renewable resource, but harvesting it through deforestation would:
- Cause biodiversity loss due to wildlife displacement.
- Increase the risk of zoonotic disease through contact, as the wild animals that have lost their habitat may encroach on human territory.
- Result in more flooding and drought due to water cycle disruption.
- Shrink fertile land because of soil erosion.
- Bring hardship to the indigenous peoples who live off the forested land.
- Make local communities more vulnerable to natural disasters.
- Weaken the fight against climate change by losing a biological carbon sink.
A building material’s social and economic dimensions are as important as its environmental component. When comparing options, consider all three to judge whether a product is sustainable.
5 Sustainable Materials to Consider for Your Renovation
The absolute sustainable building material has yet to be developed, these five options come closest.
- FSC-Certified Wood
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is the authority on sustainable forestry. It sets stringent standards for responsible forest management. This international organization certifies forests that yield timber products without negatively impacting woodlands over the long term.
The FSC promotes zero deforestation, preserving forests with irreplaceable values to conserve natural resources and rich biodiversity. Workers in FSC-certified forests earn fair wages, and the management respects the legal and cultural rights of the local communities living in or around the timberland areas.
Use a contractor that only sources forestry products from FSC-approved suppliers to minimize the indirect ecological harm your project may cause. The United States is a net lumber importer, so the suppliers are more likely foreign than domestic. Still, 85% of all certified forests are in North America and Europe, so at least the lumber you need probably won’t have to travel halfway around the world, therefore emitting less greenhouse gases.
- Cob
Cob is a mixture of subsoil, straw and water. Its basic ingredients are almost always widely available with minimal processing. Nearby excavation projects can produce enough clay-based soil to prepare cob for renovating walls.
This earthen material has a high thermal mass. Cob absorbs and retains heat during warmer periods and releases stored thermal energy during cooler periods. Its natural ability to regulate indoor temperatures should enhance your home’s energy efficiency. Cob construction is proof against fire and termites, making it climate-resilient and pest-resistant.
When constructed properly, this soil-based material is durable. Qualified contractors operate in places where cob construction is gaining currency. There’s now a dedicated cob section in the International Residential Code (IRC). U.S. states adopting the cob-related construction guidance remove hurdles prohibiting the sustainable material.
- Straw
Straw is a renewable resource baled into various building products, including prefabricated wall panels, sheets and insulation infill. Straw bales are typically square and rectangular, but some baling equipment can make them round. They have excellent thermal and acoustic insulation properties. Dense bales covered with plaster and fire-resistant materials contribute to fire safety.
Straw-bale construction diverts untold amounts of grain cultivation by-products from landfills and incinerators because the agriculture sector considers grass stalks waste. A significant portion of a straw bale’s weight is carbon. Regenerative agricultural practices allow the cereal plant to prevent more carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere and intensifying climate change.
Straw-bale construction is well established. While it isn’t mainstream, every U.S. state has structures made with it. Nebraskans have historically built structures with this sustainable material, and it’s estimated that California has more than 1,000 straw-bale buildings.
- Bamboo
Bamboo has many of the qualities you seek in a sustainable material. This fast-growing grass can regenerate in only three to five years, making it considerably more renewable than hardwoods that take decades to be ready for harvesting.
Bamboo sequesters carbon efficiently. One hectare — about 2.47 acres — of bamboo forest can trap 26,000 pounds of CO2 yearly. Such carbon storage capacity exceeds a house’s average annual greenhouse gas emissions. Bamboo lumber is long-lasting, so it locks carbon away indefinitely.
This wonder material’s weight-to-strength ratio is superior to steel’s, and its tensile strength is exceptional. However, building codes in the U.S. don’t universally approve of it as a primary structural building material yet. Ongoing research aims to identify bamboo species with the best characteristics and explore preservation techniques. For now, you can use engineered bamboo lumber for flooring, wall paneling, siding and decking. Consider upgrading to bamboo furniture and cabinetry.
- Hempcrete
Hempcrete consists of lime, water and the hemp plant’s woody core, called hurd. Compared to traditional concrete, this green alternative is lighter and has superior thermal properties. Hemp captures more CO2 than any commercial crop and stays trapped in the hurd within hempcrete.
Hurd is an agricultural waste. Being processed as a building material prevents it from releasing methane, a potent climate change gas, while biodegrading. Hempcrete represents more economic opportunities for hemp growers, reducing waste disposal costs and opening more revenue streams.
Hempcrete construction is ripe for mainstream adoption after enjoying a broader building code acceptance in the U.S. You can retrofit this carbon-negative, energy-efficient infill insulation solution to existing wall frames. This biocomposite material is breathable, so it helps manage moisture levels, prevent dampness and contribute to healthy indoor air quality.
Honorable Mentions
Reclaimed wood is sustainable, and so are recycled steel and plastics. They’re circular products, which means they help preserve virgin resources and discourage ecologically damaging harvesting and extraction practices.
However, they undergo manufacturing processes that emit greenhouse gases. To minimize your renovation project’s environmental impact, consider more eco-friendly options before them.
Renovate With the Most Sustainable Materials Available
Making your home more energy-efficient and climate-resilient inevitably harms the environment in one way or another. As paradoxical as green home improvements may be, choosing the most sustainable building products is the most ecologically beneficial decision.
