For immediate release:29 May 2025
NATURAL FIBRE INSULATION COMPANY GETS GREEN LIGHT
FROM OFGEM IN UK FIRST
Indinature, who have pioneered the use of industrial hemp as an insulation material for construction, is the first UK natural fibre company to be fully approved for two of Ofgem's home insulation schemes.
ECO4 and GBIS are Government backed grant schemes aimed at improving energy efficiency in UK homes. ECO4 primarily targets low-income households and vulnerable groups. The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) offers insulation grants to a broader range of households, including middle income families. This includes EPC B band houses which aren't normally eligible for funding with typical loft insulation materials.
The company's IndiBreathe product can replace conventional loft insulation materials and has several advantages such as being formaldehyde and VOC free making it safer to work with. Installers love working with the product as it is soft to the touch and doesn't irritate the skin. It offers superior heat retention compared to traditional glass fibre products and it is also fully sustainable as hemp is a fast-growing and plentiful crop and the material can be recycled or re-purposed at the end of life.
Brian Monaghan, sales director, Indinature said: "We are absolutely delighted that Ofgem has approved our materials for their loft insulation schemes as it opens up a whole new domestic market for the company. We would like to thank Scottish Power for successfully sponsoring the application to Ofgem for IndiBreathe Flex to be registered as an innovation measure for the ECO and GBIS schemes."
He added: "It now means that builders and contractors can now specify a natural, sustainable and healthy high-performance insulation product when installing loft insulation under the Government schemes."
This is a second UK first for Indinature. In 2004, the company was the first company manufacturing industrial hemp insulation to achieve a full agrément certificate from the British Board of Agrément (BBA). This meant that the product could be used at scale for both new build and retrofit projects. BBA agrément certificates are a valuable and trustworthy symbol of excellence, recognised in the industry as a differentiating mark of product quality and suitability for meeting UK building regulations.
Indinature's products are manufactured at its purpose designed Hemp Mill in Jedburgh, Scottish Borders.
For further information about Indinature, products and distributors please visit:www.indinature.co
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Notes to Editors
Media Contact:
Mike Reynolds
Integris Communications
T: 07748 63567
About the brand - IndiNaturewww.indinature.co
IndiNature was co-founded in 2016 and has grown with the backing of the Scottish ecosystem of support for entrepreneurial start-up and impact-led businesses, including Scottish Edge (Winner 2017)-and Scottish Enterprise Unlocking Ambition and Climate KIC through the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute.
IndiNature is the brand name of Industrial Nature Ltd based in Edinburgh - leading on investment raising, materials innovation including biotech R&D, and establishing the infrastructure for local manufacturing.
The IndiNature Mill was established in 2022 at Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders as their first manufacturing site, and is home to its manufacturing and sales subsidiary - Industrial Nature UK Ltd.
With the support of 44 seed investors, major funding was secured in 2021 & 2022 to establish the IndiNature Mill and build the team, backed by the Zero Waste Scotland Circular Economy Investment Fund, South of Scotland Enterprise and investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank.
IndiNature's core principle is to make high quality biobased, circular materials and to make them available from local crops, with local manufacturing in to local homes around the world- on an industrial scale.
IndiTherm is the company's first product to be manufactured, and after 14 months of production is now BBA certified. It is stocked by distributors and merchants across the UK.
Industrial hemp is a historic crop in the UK - it was grown for its durability and 36strength for the Navy's rigging, anchor ropes and sails. This incredible crop is now a vital part of the world's resources to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
For more detail on the company, products or where to buy visit: www.indinature.co
About IndiTherm insulation: https://www.indinature.co/inditherm
IndiTherm replaces conventional mineral wool insulations. It can be friction fit between structural framing or against masonry - with excellent rigidity to resist slumping.
Healthy and soft to touch for installers, large carbon savings, net negative embodied carbon.
Building occupants will benefit from the excellent thermal and moisture buffering properties of this sustainable and breathable material, creating healthier indoor environments reducing damp and mould.
It has the added property of low-density heat storage, which means indoor temperatures stay warm in winter and cool in summer. Durability tested.
Benefits of using hemp-based insulation include:
- Storescarbon- hemp has a net capture of carbon unlike other insulation materials which produce huge amounts of carbon as a by-product of their production process.
- Warminwinter- hemp has great thermal performance reducing heat loss.
- Coolinsummer- natural fibre insulation reduces the risk of buildings overheating by passively storing and releasing excess heat to keep temperatures level all year long.
- Circular- unlike other insulation materials which end up in landfill, IndiNature products can be reused at the end of life or reprocessed into the same products.
- Fire safe- IndiTherm has passed the UKAS accredited Reaction to Fire standard EN 13501-1. For smoke, the product has the best Class rating of s1. For flaming droplets, the product has none, with a Class of d0.
- Vapour breathable- excess water vapour is safely transported out of buildings; keeping indoor air healthy and structures dry to extend the lifespan of buildings
- Locally farmed- all our hemp and flax is made in the UK supporting local jobs and reducing carbon in transport. Hemp is a fast growing annual crop, making it a highly renewable and sustainable crop capturing ‘now' carbon.
- Preserves buildings- by keeping structures dry hemp helps preserve buildings including historic and listed buildings.
- Affordable- working on optimising costs with volume to be more price competitive with conventional insulation materials, while ensuring a sustainable living along the supply chain
- Healthy- natural regulation of humidity means reduced risks of damp and mould as well as healthy indoor air. Hemp fibres are safe and soft for installers to handle
- Easy build- batts provide simple friction fit and have the added advantage of being more rigid to resist slumping.
- Quiet acoustics- excellent sound dampening properties - achieving building regulations with 40db sound reduction in internal partition walls.
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