HENSEL GREEN PRODUCT LINE
Emission-tested fire protection products with documented environmental information
When planning sustainability-oriented construction projects, requirements relating to indoor air emissions, substances, material transparency and environmental information are becoming increasingly important alongside passive fire protection.
HENSOTHERM® and HENSOMASTIK® products within the HENSEL GREEN PRODUCT LINE have been continuously developed at Rudolf Hensel for more than 25 years. The designation identifies fire protection products for which defined product-specific evidence relating to emissions, substances and environmental information is available.
The HENSEL GREEN PRODUCT LINE therefore supports architects and specifiers in selecting emission-tested construction products for ecological and sustainable construction and in documenting sustainability-oriented building projects.
Product-specific tests, classifications and environmental information may contribute towards meeting relevant criteria of building assessment and certification schemes such as:
- BNB – German Assessment System for Sustainable Building
- DGNB – German Sustainable Building Council
- LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
- BREEAM – Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method
- Minergie-P-ECO or Minergie-A-ECO standards
Individual Hensel products are also listed in product databases and planning platforms such as the DGNB Navigator and comparable systems.
Whether and to what extent individual forms of evidence can be taken into account within a building certification depends on the respective assessment scheme, its version, the specific assessment criterion and the individual construction project.
The relevant tests, assessments, environmental information and certifications stated for each individual product are always decisive. Current evidence and its respective scope are specified on a product-by-product basis.
What the designation HENSEL GREEN PRODUCT LINE means
The HENSEL GREEN PRODUCT LINE is a product-line designation defined by Rudolf Hensel and is not an independent environmental or sustainability label.
Directive (EU) 2024/825 on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (EmpCo) and its implementation in the German Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG) have further clarified the requirements for transparent and substantiated environmental claims.
A construction product is only assigned to the HENSEL GREEN PRODUCT LINE if all of the following criteria are met and documented by current product-specific evidence:
- The product meets the highest requirements of ecobau and Minergie-ECO with regard to ecological, health-related and circularity criteria and has received an eco1 rating for construction products from ecobau. Evidence is provided by the relevant assessment certificate.
- The formulation contains no Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) included on the current REACH Candidate List of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) at concentrations ≥ 0.1% by mass. Evidence is provided by the Safety Data Sheet (SDS).
- The formulation contains no PBT or vPvB substances at concentrations ≥ 0.1% by mass in accordance with Annex XIII of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH), i.e. substances that are persistent (P), bioaccumulative (B) and toxic (T), or very persistent (vP) and very bioaccumulative (vB). Evidence is provided by the Safety Data Sheet (SDS).
- The product meets at least the requirements of the 2018 AgBB Evaluation Scheme, or a later edition, for the health-related assessment of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VVOC, VOC and SVOC) from construction products intended for use indoors. Evidence is provided by the relevant test and assessment certificate.
- In accordance with the French VOC regulations on the labelling of construction products with regard to emissions of volatile pollutants into indoor air, the product is classified in the highest emission class A+ (very low emissions). Emissions testing is carried out in accordance with DIN EN 16516; evidence is provided by the relevant test and assessment certificate.
The designation HENSEL GREEN PRODUCT LINE and the assignment of a construction product to this product line expressly do not constitute an overall assessment of the product’s total environmental impact or its safety. In particular, the designation does not mean that a product has no environmental impacts, consists exclusively of natural ingredients or is free from properties relevant to hazardous-substance legislation throughout every stage of its life cycle.
Assignment to the HENSEL GREEN PRODUCT LINE is instead based on the specific, documented tests, assessments, environmental information and certifications stated for the individual product.
This makes it transparent which properties of a HENSEL GREEN PRODUCT LINE product have actually been tested or assessed and what each individual claim refers to.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in accordance with ISO 14025 and EN 15804 are available for numerous HENSOTHERM® and HENSOMASTIK® products. These are published by the Institut Bauen und Umwelt (IBU) following independent third-party verification.
Product-specific EPDs provide specifiers with verified life-cycle assessment data for the environmental assessment of buildings. Depending on the respective assessment scheme, these data may be used instead of generic datasets for the building life-cycle assessment and/or may be taken into account for relevant building certification criteria.
The availability of an EPD expressly does not constitute an overall assessment of a product’s total environmental impact or its safety.
Transparency for professionals and consumers
HENSOTHERM® and HENSOMASTIK® are technical fire protection products intended for professional use. Our product systems are predominantly designed and specified in a B2B environment and are installed by specialist contractors and trained applicators.
However, our product information is publicly accessible and is therefore not used exclusively by industry professionals. For this reason, when making statements relating to ecological construction, sustainable construction and environmental impacts, we aim to explain their specific meaning transparently and substantiate them with product-specific tests, assessments and documentation.
Fire protection coatings, fillers, adhesives and other fire protection products are technical construction products. Individual products or components may be classified as hazardous under chemicals legislation and may therefore carry corresponding hazard and precautionary statements.
This must be distinguished from the assessment of specific properties such as VOC emissions, substances or documented environmental impacts.
Legal requirements are subject to change. For application, occupational health and safety, storage and disposal, as well as hazardous-substance classification and labelling, the information provided in the latest product information, application guidelines and Safety Data Sheets must be observed.
Environmental and emissions claims are based on the respective product-specific tests, assessments and supporting evidence stated for that purpose.