How Knauf Insulation Inc. is Advancing Healthier, More Sustainable Spaces This Earth Day
04/17/2026
On Earth Day 2026, Knauf celebrates our employees, customers, and partners who support our commitment to sustainability. This commitment is grounded in our dedication to creating healthier, high-performing spaces and making tomorrow a home for all of us.
Formaldehyde-free Insulation and Indoor Air Quality
We mark Earth Day 2026 with the celebration of becoming the first fiberglass insulation manufacturer to be entirely formaldehyde-free across its entire product portfolio. This step significantly extends our ability to improve indoor air quality through healthier building materials and marks a milestone towards our goal of becoming an LBC Red List Free company.
The process of becoming a completely formaldehyde-free manufacturer started in 2008 with the creation of ECOSE® Technology, a bio-based binder developed by Knauf as an alternative to the traditional formaldehyde binders. Since then, we’ve added ECOSE® to more products through the years, which culminated in our roll out of our Performance+® portfolio at the end of 2025.
The Performance+® portfolio of residential and commercial insulation products has earned Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) and Allergy Standards Limited (ASL). The Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program, a collaborative initiative between ASL and AAFA, helps consumers identify products that contribute to a healthier indoor environment. Products undergo rigorous independent testing to meet scientific standards to earn the Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Mark.
Energy Efficiency and Building Performance
Fiberglass insulation increases comfort, reduces energy use, and improves a building’s energy efficiency. As noted by Energy Star, the “EPA estimates that homeowners can save an average of 15% on heating and cooling costs (or an average of 11% on total energy costs) by air sealing their homes and adding insulation in attics, floors over crawl spaces, and accessible basement rim joists.”
Those savings can be realized because fiberglass insulation enables heating and cooling systems to operate with greater efficiency, which decreases energy use. In other words, insulation serves as an energy efficient, cost-effective way to keep residences cool in summer and warm in winter.
Sustainability and Recycled Materials
Knauf’s insulation materials contain up to 55%* UL-validated recycled content. Theoretically, when you recycle glass, it could end up back in your home in the form of fiberglass insulation.
And we use a lot of recycled glass in our manufacturing process—enough to fill 10 railcars each day or 800 million pounds annually. That’s 624 million glass bottles diverted from landfills each year. Using recycled glass in our manufacturing process reduces our energy consumption up to 20%. A recent study by the Insulation Institute calculates that the embodied carbon payback period of fiberglass insulation is on average 46 days.
But don’t just take our word for it. Third-party certifications are one of the most important ways we validate our sustainability efforts. You can view our many certifications, standards and other third-party validations by visiting our Certifications page.
On Earth Day and beyond, Knauf is committed to producing quality products that help our customers build smarter and healthier spaces, from a single-family home to a large-scale commercial project.
*2025 UL Certification