NZCB InHouse magazine August/September 2020

Page 24

IN THE KNOW —

Beyond green claims Understanding sustainable products and materials There’s a shift towards sustainable products and the considered use of materials happening right now. The use of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), and ecolabels is increasingly common, and we’re likely to see greater transparency and reporting of how well building products serve the environment become the new norm. Half of building-related carbon emissions come from the materials used to make them. Fortunately, we know we can do better both through what we use and how they’re made. If we make some key improvements we could take the equivalent of up to 15 percent of New Zealand’s passenger cars off the road permanently. We know there are real and increasingly important environmental impacts. We also know there are strong drivers that will force the industry to actively consider the impact of the products and materials we are using as we work towards a zero-carbon future. Recently, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment announced its Building for Climate Change programme promising a ‘once in a generation’ system reform. It plans to set mandatory reporting requirements and targets for emissions, including from construction materials and their disposal. “These targets will provide pressure on the whole supply chain to reduce emissions,” the Ministry says. Also, being driven in part by Government, there is a growing environmental approach to procurement. Its residential development agency Kainga Ora have committed to building homes rated to Homestar and we’re seeing an increasing number of organisations and companies building exclusively to Homestar or its commercial building equivalent Green Star. Not only are these developments growing the sector’s appreciation and ability to deliver greener building, importantly they highlight the need for effective and transparent product information. If we expect designers and builders to make good decisions about what goes into a building we need to ensure there’s good information available to them. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, the complex world of sustainable materials and credentials is often poorly understood. When it comes to designing and building a sustainable space the Green Building Council recognises products that are reused, have high recycled content, have ecolabels, stewardship programmes, or that have low Volatile Organic Compound emissions. Importantly, we rely on these claims being well documented and verifiable. We rate green buildings rather than individual products and materials. Instead we use, and incentivise the work of, third-party certifications and ecolabels who are independent of manufacturers, suppliers and the NZGBC.

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There is a raft of tools out there that either provide transparency about a material’s footprint or directly validate better products. Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) provide a comprehensive calculation of a product’s environmental footprint from cradle to grave (i.e. through its manufacture, use, end of life etc.). For the average builder or consumer an LCA is largely unintelligible and therefore unhelpful in making decisions or comparisons. This is where an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is useful. An EPD takes the extensive LCA data and summarises the key information in a more succinct and accessible form. It’s like a nutrition label for a product except instead of providing data on the energy, fat and sodium, it provides the carbon footprint, water footprint and embodied energy, among other things. This allows fairer comparisons between products and supports better decision-making. They’re widely recognised by green rating tools (BREEAM, LEED, Green Star etc.) and can therefore also differentiate products in a highly competitive field. EPDs differ from an ecolabel in that they simply state a product’s environmental performance rather than benchmark or certify any environmental merit. However, given the rigorous process behind it, an EPD will often prompt improvements and shifts by manufacturers and the supply chain to improve. Ecolabel schemes like ECNZ, GreenTag GreenRate, PEFC and Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA) can help identify products that are better environmentally through their manufacture, or that have little to no hazardous substances in the products themselves. They often provide clear and easily communicable verification of sustainable products and are therefore a useful tool for the sector to establish a greener build. A list of ecolabels recognised under Green Star and Homestar ratings can be found on the NZGBC website. There are also useful databases from the likes of EnviroSpec for comparing and selecting products and their certifications. What all of these schemes have in common is they’re data led, independent and, most importantly, they’re transparent. It’s no longer good enough to say a material or product is eco, green, or better for the environment. We need the information or certification to back that up.

Andrew Eagles, CEO New Zealand Green Building Council. The New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) is a not-for-profit industry organisation that promotes better buildings, because better buildings mean healthier, happier people. It has the backing of approximately 500 members across the construction and property sectors. For more info visit nzgbc.org.nz


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Articles inside

NEWS BITES

7min
pages 50-53

Easy protection of cut timber ends, with Abodo’s new Protector End Seal

1min
page 49

MiTek screw innovation

2min
page 48

Membrane refurbishment work – what’s consentable?

1min
page 47

Message from our Auckland BDM

2min
page 42

AST Trust update

1min
page 46

ITAB welcomes WITT partnership

1min
page 44

Stay safe, speak up

4min
pages 34-35

Three ways to stop playing the ‘what-if’ game

4min
pages 40-41

Why do I feel so angry?

3min
pages 38-39

Bad vibrations

2min
pages 36-37

To Corporatise, or not to Corporatise? That is the question

5min
pages 32-33

Jump in puddles

2min
page 27

Why you should be using Payment Claims

6min
pages 20-21

Updates from the Building Performance Team

4min
pages 22-23

Beyond green claims

4min
pages 24-25

OUR PEOPLE

2min
pages 28-29

Changes to tertiary education will impact the construction industry

4min
pages 30-31

Meeting your KiwiSaver obligations

2min
page 26

Halo Guarantee update

1min
page 10

Message from the Chief Executive

3min
pages 6-7

NZCB Board changes

3min
page 5

Four reasons why tech is vital post lockdown

2min
pages 18-19

Appliances at commercial prices

2min
pages 12-13

Message from the NZCB Board

2min
page 4

REVERE – submissions now open

4min
pages 16-17

Message from the Group Technical Manager

2min
pages 8-9
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