Dugoul, Anna2024-08-282024-08-282024-08-28https://hdl.handle.net/2077/83211The construction sector's focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in buildings is shifting. While operational carbon reductions are a priority, the embodied carbon footprint is becoming increasingly significant. The use of bio-based insulation materials is one of the possible and most promising embodied carbon reduction measures available today. These bio-based insulation materials are less commonly used in new construction or renovation projects as they are perceived as less performant than conventional insulation materials and have a low market presence. The aim of this study is to develop a renovation scenario for three different types of buildings built in Sweden during the Miljonprogrammet years and requiring renovation, to compare five bio-based insulation materials with three conventional insulation materials, by using different criteria to evaluate the performance of the first as insulation materials compared to the latter. Among the five bio-based insulation materials studied, straw was defined as the most promising bio-based insulation material based on its environmental benefits of high biogenic carbon sequestration and low emissions release from fossil fuels use, limited impact on land and land use change, its low cost, and its significant production. The outcomes of this study indicate that most of the bio-based insulation materials studied have a thermal conductivity on a par with the conventional insulation materials studied and they can sequester significant amounts of biogenic carbon. However, a retrofitting with these bio-based materials would require greater volumes of insulation material compared with the conventional materials, and the emissions from fossils fuels use still need to be reduced. As most of the bio-based insulation materials studied cannot delay fire development effectively, in contrast to conventional insulation materials, the reaction to fire of bio-based insulation materials implies the need for improvements.engbio-based material, insulation, renovation, biogenic carbon, fossil fuels emissionsText