We systematically review the impact of polyurethane insulation and polyurethane household products on the indoor environmental quality of buildings. The review breaks down polyurethane products into constituent compounds (isocyanate, polyol, flame retardant, blowing agent and catalyst) as well as secondary emissions, and discusses their implications on human health. Concentrations of compounds emitted from insulation, and household materials, measured in laboratory experiments and case studies are presented in the context of the built environment.

Co-benefits rarely enter quantitative decision-support frameworks, often because the methodologies for their integration are lacking or not known. This review fills in this gap by providing comprehensive methodological guidance on the quantification of co-impacts and their integration into climate-related decision making based on the literature. The article first clarifies the confusion in the literature about related terms and makes a proposal for a more consistent terminological framework, then emphasizes the importance of working in a multiple-objective–multiple-impact framework.

The building sector is considered as the biggest single contributor to world energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, a good understanding of the nature and structure of energy use in buildings is crucial for establishing the adequate future energy and climate change policies. Availability of the updated data is becoming increasingly important in order to allow a rigorous analysis. In this paper, recent data on the world energy consumption in both residential and commercial buildings are reported.