A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Façade Retrofit Strategies by Using Bio-Based Materials and UltraLightweight Building Systems

Energy retrofitting is central to Europe’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Building envelopes, responsible for 50–60% of total buildings’ heat transfer, are critical for operational savings, while their retrofitting can additionally impact their embodied carbon. This chapter presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of three non-conventional retrofitting strategies based on the addition of lightweight technologies and low-carbon materials to an External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS): 1. A commercially available lightweight polymeric textile cladding; 2. A fully biogenic mycelium composite insulating panel made with bio-residues, tested at the laboratory scale; 3. A bio-based insulating panel made of post-consumer textile waste. Each strategy is assessed individually, with the lightweight system also evaluated in combination with both bio-based and conventional insulating components. The assessment will consider the product stage (from cradle-to-gate) and end of life scenarios, in compliance with the EN15804 and/or ISO 14025.