Ure-K

Declaration details

Manufacturer

International Cellulose Company

Program operator

Smart EPD

Declaration number

SmartEPD-2025-093-0617-01.1

Date of issue

October 23, 2025

Valid until

October 23, 2030

Product category rules (PCR)

UL Part B: Building Envelope Thermal Insulation Products (version 3)

Standard

ISO 14025:2006 and ISO 21930:2017

Functional unit

1 m2 of product material with RSI=1m2k/w

System boundary

Cradle to gate with other options (A1 - A3, A4, A5, C1 - C4)

Product specificity

Product Specific

Manufacturing specificity

Facility Specific

Manufacturing plant

ICC Houston Texas Plant (12315 Robin Blvd, Houston, TX 77045, USA)

Product category

ThermalMoistureProtection › Insulation › SprayedInsulation

Product service life

75 years

Verifier

Brandon Kuczenski, Scope 3 Consulting LLC

LCA software

Sphera LCA for Experts (formerly GaBi) 10.9

Program instructions

Smart EPD General Program Instructions v.2.0, March 2025

Life cycle assessment results

Results per 1 m2 of product material with RSI=1m2k/w.

Environmental Impact Assessment Results

Resource Use Indicators

Waste and Output Flow Indicators

Carbon Emissions and Removals

ND = not declared. Life cycle modules: A1-A3 product stage, A4-A5 construction process, B use stage, C end of life, D benefits and loads beyond the system boundary.

Material composition

Hazardous substances

No substances required to be reported as hazardous are associated with the production of this product

Scenarios

Transport to the building site (A4)

Fuel type

Diesel

Vehicle type

Truck

Transport distance

1126.30 km

Capacity utilization

85%

Packaging mass

5.17E-02

End of life (C1-C4)

Collected with mixed construction waste

2.89E+00

Product or material for final disposal

2.89E+00

Product description

Ure-K is a high-performance 15-minute thermal barrier, designed to meet code requirements while enhancing insulation and acoustics. Spray-applied over exposed polyurethane foam to a minimum thickness of 1.25", Ure-K integrates effortlessly into new construction and existing buildings. Made from sustainable cellulose fibers, this versatile system provides both thermal protection and sound absorption, contributing to a quieter, more comfortable environment. With a natural texture available in four standard colors and in custom color options, Ure-K offers design flexibility without compromising performance.

Interpretation

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results indicate that the environmental impacts across all products studied are primarily driven by the raw materials stage (A1). Among the raw materials, Part B, Boric Acid, and Polyvinyl Alcohol consistently emerge as the top contributors to environmental impact. It is important to note that the Boric Acid dataset is currently out of date, but was used since there is no better alternative.To mitigate these effects, it is recommended to explore opportunities to reduce the quantities of these materials in product formulations where feasible. Although Mineral Oil was not one of the top contributing raw materials in term of GWP, it is important to note that the results may be affected by the outdated mineral oil dataset. When interpreting the results, it is important to keep the uncertainty and data quality in mind.

Although the insulation products already incorporate a significant proportion of recycled content, further increasing this percentage would be advantageous. Higher recycled content reduces reliance on virgin raw materials, thereby lowering the associated environmental impacts and improving the overall sustainability profile of the products.

The distribution phase (A4) is identified as the second-largest contributor to the total environmental impact. This data, provided by the plant team, suggests that transportation logistics play a significant role. While optimizing distribution routes can be challenging due to business constraints, efforts to shorten transportation distances or improve logistics efficiency should be explored.

Transportation of raw materials (A2) also contributes notably to the global warming potential. Sourcing raw materials closer to the manufacturing facilities would help reduce emissions associated with long-distance transport. The truck transportation and barge transportation datasets that were used within this study are both outdated, but there are currently no other better alternatives.

This LCA was allocated based on total facility production, as submetering data was not available. The system boundary follows a cradle-to-gate approach and includes optional indicators covering modules A1–A5 and C1–C4.

Due to limited dataset availability, some selected sources may not be of optimal quality. However, they were chosen as the most suitable and comprehensive options under the circumstances. For example, the mineral oil dataset used is over 10 years old, but was selected due to the absence of more recent alternatives and its relevance as the closest available approximation. Similarly, outdated datasets were used for truck and barge transportation, as no newer versions are readily accessible. While these datasets help complete the model, they may introduce uncertainty into the results. Therefore, it's important to acknowledge and discuss these data quality limitations.