How products are selected for GreenSpec
Green Product Definition
For the purposes of GreenSpec , a ‘green’ product
/ material is:
A commercially available product / material (currently available
in the UK) that embodies one or more positive environmental attributes
or qualities that distinguish it from other products or materials in the
same function category.
The selection process
1 Submission of information
The submission by the manufacturer will comprise of one or more of the following documents:
- Manufacturer's literature including details of the manufacturing process and component material(s)
- Independent environmental certification (eg Eco Profiling or other LCA)
- Independent verification of manufacturer's claims
- Manufacturer's own support of claims
- Environmental Management Certification (ISO 14001 series) or other uncertified certification system
- Complience with Construction Products Directive Essential Requirments and or EC Mark
- Complience with British Standard(s)
- BBA Certification
- European Technical Approval in absence of a BBA certificate
- Independent tests by eg BM, TRADA, CARES, BRE etc.
2 Evaluation
Methodology
Ideally the environmental assessment of products and materials should
be on the basis of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). The concept of LCA is relatively
new to the construction industry. Consequently, though there is a burgeoning
body of data, the amount of information available to enable rigorous assessment
remains limited.
With the lack of detailed data, the selection of green products and materials
becomes problematic. Short of universal criteria and independently verified
data, specifiers are obliged to fall back on their own / collective experience
and criteria of selection. (In fact this will continue to be the case
to a lesser extent even when universal standards of selection are established.
Buildings are by their nature context-driven). Information is drawn from
a range of sources including manufacturers’ literature, third party
analysis, personal and group experience.
GreenSpec approaches selection of materials and products
in the same way. We use LCA data where available but for the vast majority
of subjects we look to our own experience and a wide variety of information
sources. The products included, and their assessments, are based on our
knowledge of them. As the detailed knowledge of materials and products
develops so does our assessment. Likewise as the concept of green materials
develops within the construction industry, manufactures will naturally
continue to develop their products towards optimum environmental performance.
Products will become more sustainable through market forces. As such,
it is likely that the inclusion and exclusion of materials and products
will be fluid as time progresses. New products with higher credentials
will replace older products in their function class as the selection threshold
is raised.
We have aggregated a list of criteria based on existing LCA methods and our own and user group concerns. Some standards are easy to define objectively (eg ZODP, FSC sourced etc.) but some standards are more difficult, especially those concerning embodied energy. In these more difficult assessments, peer group opinion has been canvassed.
Assessment Criteria
Energy, greenhouse gases and global warming
Most of the embodied energy in building products derives from fossil
fuels. There is a direct correlation between the burning of fossil fuels,
carbon dioxide production and global warming. Fossil fuels are also a
non-renewable resource.
Carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas. Other gases include methane
and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
Low embodied energy - does the product use less energy
in the extraction of its materials, its manufacture, its transportation,
storage, installation and waste?
Less GHG/ODP in manufacture, use and/or demolition and disposal
- does the product create potential to reduce/eliminate greenhouse gases
and ozone-depleting substances in use and/or disposal?
Low operational energy – is the product an item
of equipment that produces renewable energy / reduces the need for energy
in operational use?
Natural Resources
Renewable and abundant – is the product derived
from a renewable resource or one that is naturally abundant suffice for
future needs?
Rapid renewal – is the product derived from a rapidly
renewable resource (ie re-grows in less than 3 years)
Post Consumer Recycled Content - does the product incorporate
pre-used material.
Post Industrial Recycled Content- does the product incorporate waste from
its own manufacturing process or other industrial processes.
Commonly Recycled - is the product commonly recycled?
Agricultural Byproducts / Waste - does the product use
agricultural byproducts?
Durability – does the product have a long life expectancy without
preservative or excessive maintenance?
Failure Modes – has the product been reviewed for
unusual or early failure modes?
Reclaim / Reuse potential – can the product be
reasonably expected to be reused or reclaimed?
Take-back/ Product Stewardship – does the company
take-back waste from the construction / fit-out process, or have some
other mechanism to have an interest in the installation and use/ disposal
phases?
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) - does the producing
company have a concern and interest with what will happen to the product
at the end of its intended design life? Commitments to EPR and policies,
such as designing for disassembly and re-use or recycling, are looked
for.
Eco Packaging- does the product packaging minimise its impacts?
Water conservation – does the product reduce the
demand on water supply?
Waste reduction – does the product reduce waste?
Habitat degradation
Reduced land impact - Does the product reduce/eliminate
the effect on erosion, salinity, vegetation loss, changes in nutrient
and characteristics of soil and aesthetic damage to landscapes?
Reduced water impact - Does the product reduce/eliminate
the effect of the release of nutrients, salts, toxins or suspended material
into aquatic systems?
Toxicity to the environment
Reduced Life Cycle Toxicity – does the product
reduce/eliminate the emission of substances known to or suspected of having
toxic effects on humans or natural systems.
Elimate Life Cycle Carcinogen – does the product
eliminate effects whereby the product has emissions known or suspected
of causing cell mutations
Reduced Smog - does the product reduce/eliminate the
emission of organic gases and Nitrogen oxides both of which contribute
to the development of photochemical smogs.
Manufacture, contractor and occupant health
Low/Reduced Offgassing - does the product have low,
zero, or reduced offgassing, for example of volatile organic compounds?
Toxics or Carcinogens -does the product reduce or have
the potential to reduce the presence of toxins or carcinogens?
Moisture resistance – does the product resist moisture?
Contaminants– does the product inhibit the growth
of biological contaminants?
Air quality – does the product remove / help to
remove indoor air pollutants or enhance air quality?
Maintenance – is the product one that requires
only simple, non-toxic or low-VOC methods of cleaning?
3 Accreditation
The degree of evidence provided to support a manufacturer’s claim
is proportional to the degree of confidence that the specifier demonstrates
when selecting a product. The greater the quantity of evidence provided,
the greater the degree of confidence in specifying.
There are two evidence-based accreditation schemes currently operating
in the UK: the BRE’s Eco Profiling and GreenSpec. They represent
opposite ends of the quality of evidence scale. At the top end of the
scale, Eco Profiling, through it’s independent Life Cycle Analysis
(LCA) of a product, provides the maximum of evidence available. (Other
non-UK LCA certificates are usually equally admissible). At the bottom
end of the scale GreenSpec offers a lower threshold to accreditation by
using the evaluation panel of industry experts to balance out evidence
shortfalls.
The evidence 'star' system
All manufacturers, even if accredited by GreenSpec, are encouraged to
develop higher degrees of evidence for their products.
The two levels of evidence are represented by the star system on GreenSpec:
* represents the minimum evidence required to register with GreenSpec
*** represents that the product has undergone an LCA with the BRE or similar