Materials 

 

Contents

 

	Materials: their manufacture, use and and environmental impact An awareness of the impact of specifying materials is an essential part of the approach to green building design. This section looks at a large variety of traditional, contemporary and new materials and products. It examines their manufacture, their impact on the environment and human health, as well as providing guidance to their use.
	Defining 'Green': Ecolabels, EPD, LCA and ISO standards Establishing what is and what isn't 'Green' is a major issue for the sustainable product market. Standards are evolving to establish creditable certification systems that transmit data and analysis in forms that are easily understood by both consumers and building product specifiers. This section looks at key standards and methodologies.
	Materials: whole life performance and cost The longer the whole life performance and lower the whole life cost the better a component performs from a sustainability perspective. This section contains a series of articles written by Peter Mayer and first published in Building magazine.