Finnish bitumen roofing generic GWP data – Bionova Ltd on assignment from Bitumen Roofing Industry Group – 2 December
2020
– revised January 2022
GENERIC DATA FOR BITUMEN ROOFING– MODIFIED BITUMEN SHEETS
Product name (in the proposed form
to be included in the database) in
Finnish, Swedish and English
The name of the component in
accordance with the harmonised
standard
The name of the component in
accordance with TALO 2000
classification system
Background information:
Manufacturers
Market shares
Imports from other countries
Short description of the
manufacturers in Finland and other
Nordic countries, description of
market shares and assessment of
imports from other countries
1
https://www.rakennustieto.fi/rtnet/muistilistat_25.1.08/10799.pdf
Bitumen waterproofing membranes
Bitumiset vedeneristyskermit
Bitumenbaserade tätskikt
SFS-EN 13707 Vedeneristyskermit. Kattojen Flexible sheets for waterproofing.
bitumiset vedeneristyskermit. Reinforced bitumen sheets for
Määritelmät ja ominaisuudet waterproofing. Definitions and
characteristics
Technical specifications for bitumen sheets are covered by the
following standards:
SFS-EN 12310
SFS-EN 12311
SFS-EN 12316
SFS-EN 12317
SFS-EN 1107
SFS-EN 1109
SFS-EN 1110
SFS-EN 1296
SFS-EN 12039
SFS-EN 12691
SFS-EN 1928
SFS-EN 1848
253 Bitumikatteet Bituminous roofing
Bitumen roll roofing or membrane is a waterproofing product which
consists of bitumen, a support layer, fillers and is covered with
mineral granules. In Finland, as well as in the other Nordic countries,
the manufacturing of bitumen waterproofing almost exclusively
uses bitumen modified with SBS (styrene-butadiene-styrene). Using
SBS makes the bitumen elastic which increases its resistance to
temperature changes, and most importantly in Finnish climate, cold.
Globally, different copolymers are also used in modifying bitumen
(APP, SBR and SEBS) but in Finland these are not commonly used. 1
In Finland, the supporting structure is generally made of polyester
or glass fibre. Organic fibres have also been used but now the vast
majority of bitumen roofing is made with polyester or glass fibre.
Bitumen roofing products are divided into three different main
categories: bottom layer membranes, top layer membranes and
single-ply roofing system. The bottom and top layer membranes are
generally used together as part of a two-ply roofing system, which
provides better waterproofing than single-ply roofing, but is more
material intensive. The single-ply system can function on its own as an
effective waterproofing if the pitch of the roof is sufficient.
Finnish bitumen roofing generic GWP data – Bionova Ltd on assignment from Bitumen Roofing Industry Group – 2 December 2020
– revised January 2022
Background information:
Essential issues affecting the carbon
footprint of the products and
differences between alternatives
within the same product group
Short description of the
manufacturing process and relative
issues that affect the carbon
footprint of the product, and possible
significant differences between
similar products
Sources and used methods for the
formulation of the proposed values
List of sources, assessment of
relevance, description of working EPDs issued by European Waterproofing Association.
groups and other methods used
2
https://www.kattoliitto.fi/kaikki-julkaisut/
According to the Roof systems manual 2019 (Finnish: Toimivat katot
2019) the roofing membranes are divided into three product classes
TL1, TL2 and TL3. The classes are defined by the mechanical and
chemical durability, as well as the specific weight of the membrane. 2
TL1: Only consists of single-ply systems, i.e. products which can
function on their own to form a sufficient water proofing. Can also
be used as part of a two-ply or even three-ply systems as top-layer.
TL2: Contains most of the bitumen membranes in use. Includes both
top layers and bottom layers.
TL3: Only used as bottom layers in lighter roofing systems and as
vapour barriers on roof slabs.
The manufacturing is done by heating the raw materials (bitumen
and copolymers) to a specific temperature and mixing them. After
this the mix is applied to the reinforcing structure (polyester or glass
fibre). The resulting sheet is cooled and then faced with mineral
granules. The bitumen is generally delivered as hot from the
petroleum refinery to the manufacturing site, where it’s heated
further.
Most of the emissions of bitumen waterproofing come from the
manufacturing of raw materials, specifically bitumen, SBS and the
supporting polyester or glass fibre. Manufacturing electricity and
heat used in the heating of bitumen and other production processes
also have a significant impact on the emissions of the products.
Significant differences arise mainly from the amounts of bitumen
and the SBS used in the products. As SBS has a large share of
emission, using alternative copolymers to modify the bitumen
would also change the carbon footprint.
Along with polyester and glass fibre, organic fibres have been used
as the support structure of the bitumen sheets. Using organic
matter instead of would decrease the emissions of the structure.
Similarly, alternative binder materials could lead to similar results.
The following sources were used to compare the values of
indicators and evaluate the plausibility of calculated values:
Finnish bitumen roofing generic GWP data – Bionova Ltd on assignment from Bitumen Roofing Industry Group – 2 December 2020
– revised January 2022

Emission data collected from relevant sources

Source Indicator Value Comments
EWA, GWP fossil (A1 – A3) per m2 3,68 Single layer fully torched modified
NEPD00271E GWP fossil (A1 – A3) per kg 0.68 bitumen roof represents an average
Single layer Carbon handprint (D) per m2 -2,98 plastomeric/elastomeric bitumen shees
fully torched Carbon handprint (D) per kg -0,55 commonly used in Europe and complying
modified Carbon storage - with local national requirements. The
bitumen roof The content of renewable raw 0% partici pating production locations gave
waterproofing materials data for the most important product
system produced for this intended use. Following
The content of secondary materials 0% this a mathematical average was made per
Available here group of countries (cluster) producing
Substances of Very High Concern < 0,1 % similar products. Based on an estimated
Substances from REACH list production quantity per country a
End-of life-scenario weighted average was calculated.
a. Reused a.
b. Recycled b. 8 % Functional unit: 1 m2
c. Energy Recovery c. Thickness: 4,3 mm
d. Disposal d. 68 % Product mass: 5,4 kg/m2
e. Disposal of hazardous e. Generic composition: bitumen, fillers (e.g.
materials limestone), Polymers (SBS, PP, etc.),
f. Incineration without f. 24 % Reinforcement (PET + glass), mineral
energy recovery surfacing

Reference service life 60

Refurbishment at 30

EWA, GWP fossil (A1 – A3) per m2 3,55 Single layer mechanically fastened
NEPD00268E GWP fossil (A1 – A3) per kg 0,65 modified bitumen roof waterproofing
Single layer Carbon handprint (D) per m2 -3,13 system represents an average
mechanically Carbon handprint (D) per kg -0,57 plastomeric/elastomeric bitumen sheet
fastened Carbon storage - commonly used in Europe and complying
modified The content of renewable raw 0% with local national requirements. The
bitumen roof materials participating production locations gave
waterproofing data for the most important product
system The content of secondary materials 0% produced for this intended use. Following
this a mathematical average was made per
Available here Substances of Very High Concern < 0,1 % group of countries (cluster) producing
Substances from REACH list similar products. Based on an estimated
End-of life production quantity per country a
a. Reused a. weighted average was calculated.
b. Recycled b. 8 %
c. Energy Recovery c. Functional unit: 1 m2
d. Disposal d. 68 % Thickness: 4,4 mm
e. Disposal of hazardous e. Product mass: 5,5 kg/m2
materials
f. Incineration without f. 24 % Generic composition: bitumen, fillers (e.g.
energy recovery limestone), Polymers (SBS, PP, etc.),
Reinforcement (PET + glass), mineral
Reference service life 60 surfacing
Refurbishment at 30
Finnish bitumen roofing generic GWP data – Bionova Ltd on assignment from Bitumen Roofing Industry Group – 2 December 2020
– revised January 2022

EWA, GWP fossil (A1 – A3) per m2 5,09 Multi-layer fully torched modified
NEPD00269E GWP fossil (A1 – A3) per kg 0,60 bitumen roof waterproofing system
Multi-layer Carbon handprint (D) per m2 -3,30 represents an average
fully torched Carbon handprint (D) per kg -0,39 plastomeric/elastomeric bitumen sheet
modified Carbon storage - commonly used in Europe. The
bitumen roof The content of renewable raw 0% participating production locations gave
waterproofing materials data for the most important product
system produced for this intended use. Following
The content of secondary materials 0% this a mathematical average was made per
Available here group of countries (cluster) producing
Substances of Very High Concern < 0,1 % similar products. Based on an estimated
Substances from REACH list production quantity per country a
End-of life weighted average was calculated.
a. Reused a.
b. Recycled b. 8 % Functional unit: 1 m2
c. Energy Recovery c. Top layer:
d. Disposal d. 68 % Thickness: 3,8 mm
e. Disposal of hazardous e. Product mass: 4,8 kg/m2
materials Bottom layer:
f. Incineration without f. 24 % Thickness: 3,1 mm
energy recovery f Product mass: 3,7 kg/m2

Reference service life 60 Generic composition: bitumen, fillers (e.g.

Refurbishment at 30 limestone), Polymers (SBS, PP, etc.),
Reinforcement (PET + glass), mineral
surfacing
EWA, GWP fossil (A1 – A3) per m2 5,37 Multi-layer mechanically fastened
NEPD00270E GWP fossil (A1 – A3) per kg 0,63 modified bitumen roof waterproofing
Multi-layer Carbon handprint (D) per m2 -3,32 system represents an average
mechanically Carbon handprint (D) per kg -0,39 plastomeric/elastomeric bitumen sheet
fastened Carbon storage - commonly used in Europe. The
modified The content of renewable raw 0% participating production locations gave
bitumen roof materials data for the most important product
waterproofing produced for this intended use. Following
system The content of secondary materials 0% this a mathematical average was made per
group of countries (cluster) producing
Available here Substances of Very High Concern < 0,1 % similar products. Based on an estimated
Substances from REACH list production quantity per country a
End-of life weighted average was calculated.
a. Reused a.
b. Recycled b. 8 % Functional unit: 1 m2
c. Energy Recovery c. Top layer:
d. Disposal d. 68 % Thickness: 3,8 mm
e. Disposal of hazardous e. Product mass: 4,8 kg/m2
materials Bottom layer:
f. Incineration without Thickness: 3,0 mm
energy recovery f. 24 % Product mass: 3,7 kg/m2
f
Reference service life 60 Generic composition: bitumen, fillers (e.g.
Refurbishment at 30 limestone), Polymers (SBS, PP, etc.),
Reinforcement (PET + glass), mineral
surfacing
Finnish bitumen roofing generic GWP data – Bionova Ltd on assignment from Bitumen Roofing Industry Group – 2 December 2020
– revised January 2022

Generic values for the Finnish bitumen roofing products

The generic values are based on the market’s largest manufacturers products for bitumen roofing. The
values below are calculated with data gathered from said manufacturers and represent the common
products. These manufacturers represent over 95 % of the Finnish bitumen roofing market.

Following generic values are defined based on the most common types of products on the Finnish market:
- Top layer membrane TL2: Mineral granule faced torchable SBS rubber bitumen top layer membrane,
reinforced with a polyester structure. Thickness about 3.6 mm, nominal weight 5 kg / m2.
- Single-ply roofing system TL1: Mineral granule faced torchable SBS rubber bitumen single-ply roofing
sheet, reinforced with a polyester structure. Thickness about 3.9 mm, nominal weight 5,5 kg / m2.
- Bottom layer TL2/TL3: Sand faced torchable SBS rubber bitumen bottom layer, reinforced with a
polyester structure. Thickness about 3 mm, nominal weight 4 kg / m2.
- Roofing shingle: Self-adhesive SBS rubber bitumen roofing shingle, reinforced with a glass fibre
structure with a heavy granulate layer from nickel manufacturing slag (which constitutes a significant
portion of the product). Thickness about 3,1 mm, nominal weight 4 kg / m2.
- Continuous roofing system: Mineral granule faced SBS rubber bitumen continuous roofing system
with self-adhesive edges, reinforced with a polyester structure. Thickness about 2,9 mm, nominal
weight 4 kg / m2.

For the end-of-life, an average of the scenarios provided by the manufacturers is used. This can be said to
represent over 95 % of the market in Finland and as such is deemed reasonable. The scenario is detailed
below. Note that as the End of Life scenario is already considering a future energy scenario, it is significantly
lower than the one for EWA. In this way, however, it is in line with the government building LCA calculation
methodology principles.

Scenario for the end-of-life of Finnish bitumen roofing products:

- 6 % recycled
- 71 % incinerated – whereby the future energy scenario is considered for substitution
- 23 % disposed at landfill

Proposed generic values

Finnish market data Product GWP(A1-A3) per kg GWP(D) per kg
Data gathered from Top layer membrane TL2 0,56 -0,11
Finnish manufacturers Single-ply roofing system TL1 0,65 -0,12
representing 95%+ of the Bottom layer TL2/TL3 0,68 -0,14
market Roofing shingle 0,40 -0,07
Continuous roofing system 0,53 -0,08

Compared to the generic values with the EWA European average values
Reference source Reference product GWP(A1-A3) per kg GWP(D) per kg
EWA modified bitumen Single layer fully torched 0,68 -0,55
roofing EPDs Single layer mechanically 0,65 -0,57
fastened
Multi-layer fully torched 0,60 -0,39
Multi-layer mechanically 0,63 -0,39
fastened
Finnish bitumen roofing generic GWP data – Bionova Ltd on assignment from Bitumen Roofing Industry Group – 2 December 2020
– revised January 2022

NAME: Top layer membrane TL2

REPRESENTATIVENESS: Finland
CONVERSION VALUE Density 1389 kg/m3
Indicator Value Comments
Carbon footprint fossil (A1 – A3) (kg/kg) 0,56 Primary data was gathered from all the
according to EN15804+A1 Finnish bitumen roofing manufacturers, which
Product content/ Renewables (%) 0% constitute over 95 % of the Finnish bitumen
Product content/Share of recycled materials (%) 0% roofing market. The import market was
Share (%) and type of harmful substances <0.1% considered to be small enough so that the
data from these Finnish manufacturers can be
Technical service life (years) 30 said to be well representative of the currently
End-of life scenario (%) used products in Finland. The data was used
a. Reused to calculate generic average values for the
b. Recycled 6% GWP (Global warming potential of the
c. Energy Recovery 71 % commonly used bituminous roofing products.
d. Disposal 23 %
e. Disposal of hazardous materials
f. Incineration without energy recovery
Carbon handprint (D) −0,11

NAME: Single-ply roofing system TL1

REPRESENTATIVENESS: Finland
CONVERSION VALUE Density 1410 kg/m3
Indicator Value Comments
Carbon footprint fossil (A1 – A3) (kg/kg) 0,65 Primary data was gathered from all the
according to EN15804+A1 Finnish bitumen roofing manufacturers, which
Product content/ Renewables (%) 0% constitute over 95 % of the Finnish bitumen
Product content/Share of recycled materials (%) 0% roofing market. The import market was
Share (%) and type of harmful substances <0.1% considered to be small enough so that the
Technical service life (years) 30 data from these Finnish manufacturers can be
said to be well representative of the currently
End-of life scenario (%)
used products in Finland. The data was used
a. Reused
to calculate generic average values for the
b. Recycled 6%
GWP (Global warming potential of the
c. Energy Recovery 71 %
commonly used bituminous roofing products.
d. Disposal 23 %
e. Disposal of hazardous materials
f. Incineration without energy recovery
Carbon handprint (D) -0,12
NAME: Bottom layer TL2/TL3
REPRESENTATIVENESS: Finland
CONVERSION VALUE: Density 1333 kg/m3
Indicator Value Comments
Carbon footprint fossil (A1 – A3) (kg/kg) 0,68 Primary data was gathered from all the
according to EN15804+A1 Finnish bitumen roofing manufacturers, which
Product content/ Renewables (%) 0% constitute over 95 % of the Finnish bitumen
Product content/Share of recycled materials (%) 0% roofing market. The import market was
Share (%) and type of harmful substances <0.1 considered to be small enough so that the
Finnish bitumen roofing generic GWP data – Bionova Ltd on assignment from Bitumen Roofing Industry Group – 2 December 2020
– revised January 2022

Technical service life (years) 60 data from these Finnish manufacturers can be
End-of life scenario (%) said to be well representative of the currently
a. Reused used products in Finland. The data was used
b. Recycled 6% to calculate generic average values for the
c. Energy Recovery 71 % GWP (Global warming potential of the
d. Disposal 23 % commonly used bituminous roofing products.
e. Disposal of hazardous materials
f. Incineration without energy recovery
Carbon handprint (D) -0,14

NAME: ROOFING SHINGLE

REPRESENTATIVENESS: Finland
CONVERSION VALUE: Density 1290 kg/m3
Indicator Value Comments
Carbon footprint fossil (A1 – A3) (kg/kg) 0,40 Primary data was gathered from all the Finnish
according to EN15804+A1 bitumen roofing manufacturers, which
Product content/ Renewables (%) 0% constitute over 95 % of the Finnish bitumen
Product content/Share of recycled materials (%) 30 % roofing market. The import market was
Share (%) and type of harmful substances <0.1 considered to be small enough so that the data
from these Finnish manufacturers can be said
Technical service life (years) 60
to be well representative of the currently used
End-of life scenario (%) products in Finland. The data was used to
a. Reused calculate generic average values for the GWP
b. Recycled 6% (Global warming potential of the commonly
c. Energy Recovery 71 % used bituminous roofing products.
d. Disposal 23 %
e. Disposal of hazardous materials
f. Incineration without energy recovery
Carbon handprint (D) -0,07

NAME: CONTINUOUS ROOFING SYSTEM

REPRESENTATIVENESS: Finland
CONVERSION VALUE: Density - 1379 kg/m3
Indicator Value Comments
Carbon footprint fossil (A1 – A3) (kg/kg) 0,53 Primary data was gathered from all the
according to EN15804+A1 Finnish bitumen roofing manufacturers, which
Product content/ Renewables (%) 0% constitute over 95 % of the Finnish bitumen
Product content/Share of recycled materials (%) 33 % roofing market. The import market was
Share (%) and type of harmful substances <0.1 considered to be small enough so that the
data from these Finnish manufacturers can be
Technical service life (years) 60 said to be well representative of the currently
End-of life scenario (%) used products in Finland. The data was used
a. Reused to calculate generic average values for the
b. Recycled 6% GWP (Global warming potential of the
c. Energy Recovery 71 % commonly used bituminous roofing products.
d. Disposal 23 %
e. Disposal of hazardous materials
f. Incineration without energy recovery
Carbon handprint (D) -0,08