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KORE’s Insulated Foundation System wraps the entire foundation in a continuous layer of EPS, effectively reducing the wall‑to‑floor thermal bridge and enabling ground-floor U‑values as low as 0.09 W/m²K. It’s fully engineered and prefabricated, reducing groundworks and substructure times by approximately 20% and traditional concrete use by up to 40%, and it lowers embodied carbon by up to 30% compared to conventional strip foundations. The system has also achieved NSAI and BBA certification.

Components of the system may also be manufactured with EPS. This lowers the embodied carbon of the EPS insulation by up to 90% in the manufacturing of the raw material, through replacing a portion of fossil-based feedstock with renewable inputs derived from plant or waste sources. This does not compromise performance, the insulation functions the same, but there is a cost premium of the feedstock to make the low carbon EPS.

There are various on-site benefits, including reducing the labour requirements for the sub-structure, which typically involves multiple trades and significant manual handling, as it can be installed like a jigsaw reducing the time onsite and increasing repeatability and efficiency. The system is also weather resistant so can be installed in wet and damp conditions reducing delays due to bad weather. As well as this it reduces on-site health and safety concerns due to it being lightweight and manufactured using no harmful chemicals meaning it is non-toxic and can be handled on-site without specialist equipment.

From a waste and circularity standpoint, the system can also reduce waste to landfill by up to two-thirds, when compared to traditional strip foundations. Both the conventional and low carbon products can be recycled at the end of its useful life, again promoting product circularity and reducing waste. Approximately 50% of the EPS insulation can be recycled at end of life. This would be made up of the lower layers of insulation that are not in direct contact with concrete. To maximise reuse potential it is advised to use a separation layer between the concrete and the foundation system this will increase the recyclable EPS material to approximately 85%. Alternatively, the system can be mechanically broken apart, and once it is ensured that the EPS is clean and free of concrete it can be recycled. The EPS also contained recycled content, which is typically 10% for the structural products and 18% for the lower density products.

KORE EPS comes with a full third-party verified Environmental Product Declaration by the Irish Green Building Council and EPD Ireland. KORE was the first EPS manufacturer in Ireland to receive this certification, which was updated again in 2024. Components of the system may also be manufactured with KORE Low Carbon EPS (mentioned above), further reducing the embodied carbon of the product.