We know well that all our activities have their impact on our planet. In light of this awareness, it’s now crucial to reduce human impact on the environment, favoring increasingly sustainable choices from an ecological perspective. In terms of sustainability, construction plays a key role. It is estimated that about 40% of CO₂ emissions and 36% of global energy consumption directly depend on the buildings in which we live and work every day. Making buildings more efficient and functional is essential for an effective and efficient ecological transition.
Moreover, a “green” home offers many advantages not only for the environment but also for its occupants. Improving the energy efficiency of a building allows for significant savings in terms of utilities, and more. The use of natural materials significantly improves the quality of life of its occupants: reducing discomfort, allergies, and various types of irritations.
What are Eco-Sustainable Materials?
When we talk about eco-sustainable materials, we refer to those materials that have a life cycle with a very low environmental impact. They are efficient and sustainable in all phases of their processing, from production to disposal, including packaging, transport, and use. There are many materials of this type, some of which have been known to humans since ancient times. Today, their use is being reinterpreted according to new needs, and the advantages offered by their use are optimized thanks to increasingly refined technologies.
Raw Earth
Raw earth, or clay, has always been considered an excellent material for construction. It is an abundant resource with minimal environmental impact. Its processing does not involve the use of particular chemical substances, nor does it produce polluting waste. At the end of its life cycle, raw earth can be disposed of without special treatments. This material presents excellent advantages from a construction point of view: it has considerable mass and excellent properties in terms of thermal insulation. It is sound-insulating and fire-resistant. Clay is an extremely moldable and binding material. Raw earth walls have excellent structural capabilities. It can be affected by humidity, but with adequate coating, this issue is easily overcome.
Cork
Cork is a natural material with surprising qualities. Thanks to its characteristic alveolar structure, it is an excellent natural insulator, both from a thermal and acoustic point of view. It is therefore used to cover walls, insulate cavities, create floors, and external and internal insulation. Moreover, contrary to what one might imagine, it is a very resistant and durable material, rot-proof and unassailable by rodents and insects.
Straw
Straw is one of the materials that has always been most used in the world for building structures. It may seem strange, but compressed straw bales are very solid and reliable elements, usable as blocks for building structures and very functional as insulators. Contrary to what we are led to believe,
Hemp
Hemp is an extraordinary material, in which green building is investing heavily. Hemp has very resistant fibers, is rarely subject to diseases, and does not require much water to grow, nor particular care. Hemp bricks are made with a biocomposite of hemp and lime, with high thermal-acoustic insulation capabilities. The production of these bricks takes place through a cold process.
Bamboo
Bamboo is increasingly used as a decorative element, and not only that. In Asia, it has already been used for centuries for the construction of homes and important infrastructures. Today, Western construction is also becoming interested in this plant: bamboo has a short life cycle compared to other types of woody plants. It is flexible and very resistant, not surprisingly it is also called “green steel”. It is increasingly used in the production of furniture and flooring. A bamboo parquet is robust and durable, does not scratch, and boasts very high resistance to fire and humidity. Moreover, in the face of excellent performance, it is also more economical than the woods generally used for flooring.
Do you want to know more about choosing materials for home renovation? Contact us, our experts will be happy to help you.
