Fire performance of insulating materials made from renewable resources – Part 1: Experimental investigations of smouldering processes and emissions. In the research project ”more than just insulation – additional benefits of insulating materials made from renewable resources“, several sub-projects investigated the moisture protection, thermal protection, noise insulation and fire protection as well as the sustainability and emission effect of insulating materials made from renewable resources. The primary goal of the research network was to significantly increase the applicability of renewable insulating materials and to eliminate obstacles to their use. In the field of fire protection behavior, the smoldering and burning of renewable insulation materials was analyzed and application limits defined in the context of multi-storey buildings. The presented article deals with the experimental investigations on initiation, process and extinguishing behavior of smoldering, the effect of flame retardants and the emissions released in the combustion process. In the following article, the structural use of renewable insulation materials, instead of the previously required non-combustible insulation, is presented in the context of wood panel construction.