The construction and agricultural sectors face the challenge of reducing CO₂ and nitrogen emissions. The use of building materials based on flax and hemp can make an important contribution to these challenges and connects both sectors in their goal to become more circular. However, there is still a large gap to be bridged between theory and practice. This is evident from a study commissioned by ABN Amro.
The transition to a circular economy is bringing renewed attention to promising applications of fiber crops in construction. The use of flax and hemp is promising as a means of making the economy more sustainable, because in this way CO₂ is captured and stored in building materials, where the use of traditional building materials actually causes harmful emissions.
And yet developments are only in their infancy. The market has its fair share of challenges. Various actors are looking for their role, growers are still struggling with their revenue model, builders still purchase mainly based on price and custom, and construction activity is declining due to the difficult market conditions.
This report from ABN AMRO explores which principles are important when scaling up fiber crops for applications in construction. This is done on the basis of conversations with experts in the sectors and a survey among builders.
Making agriculture and construction more sustainable
Flax and hemp are undeniably environmentally friendly crops, for several reasons. This way, the crops have the ability to restore the soil and store CO₂ for a long time. This means that cultivation contributes to sustainable agriculture. At the same time, construction is looking for materials with a low environmental impact, in order to stay within the CO₂ budget. Building materials based on fiber crops are an attractive option in terms of sustainability to replace materials that burden the environment.
Competitive balance for arable farming
It is essential for arable farmers that the balance from the cultivation of flax or hemp is sufficient and predictable. The broadest possible sales, which go beyond just use in building and insulation materials, is the basis for this. In addition, in the long term, compensation for long-term CO₂ sequestration will have to become part of bringing the income for the arable farmer to a competitive level.
Predictability of income will also contribute to the desired area expansion to meet demand. In addition, due to the expected pressure on scarce agricultural land due to increasing demand for food and measures regarding nitrogen, biodiversity and climate, we will also have to look outside the Netherlands when it comes to the cultivation of flax and hemp. This is to source the continuous flow of raw materials for the Dutch production of bio-based building and insulation materials from a broad, secure basis.
Focused attention on promising crops
The current strategy for scaling up focuses mainly on setting up new regional, short chains. This approach has a number of advantages: many involved parties gain experience with the cultivation and processing of fiber crops and the number of transport movements in the regional chains is limited.
To increase the chances of viable chains, it is wise to focus on the most promising crops, make better use of existing market structures and pay sufficient attention to the capacity in the processing industry. Building new harvesting and processing lines that make high-quality products from fiber crops is expensive, while construction requires tested and certified products. Existing producers of building materials made from flax and hemp indicate that they still see opportunities for scaling up without having to make unnecessarily large investments. To ensure continuity, more thought must be given to viable processing lines once cultivation has been scaled up.
Demonstrable quality is crucial
Construction mainly needs proven products of demonstrable quality, which are a full-fledged alternative to the current, widely used building and insulation materials, such as insulation mats and panels. A large group of builders has doubts about the properties of flax and hemp building materials, such as their lifespan and fire safety. Builders who have experience with the use of these materials are much more positive about these aspects.
Certification is the most logical way to convince the masses. Currently, few biobased products are included in the National Environmental Database, while inclusion is important for large-scale adoption. Certification involves large investments in tests, which are a major cost item, especially for smaller companies. In light of this investment threshold and the demonstrable quality required from construction, it is wise to focus on a limited number of tested and certified products instead of fragmented production of materials whose quality is not guaranteed.
More information
Read the full report 'Fibre-rich sustainability report'.
Source: ABN AMRO
