SPECIFIER NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 19 – AUGUST 2022
Heatwaves, energy company profits and the rising energy price cap are putting the focus on building comfort like never before. None of it is easy reading, and we can soon feel as though individual actions are unlikely to make a significant difference.
But by working together to develop responsible specifications that have the end user in mind, we can begin to create a built environment that is well placed to meet today’s needs and the challenges of tomorrow.
This month’s focus is the environmental impact of construction products, and whether Green Guide ratings still have a place in specification. Don’t forget to contact us with comments or questions.
Focus on Green Guide ratings and EPDs
Why should EPDs be used in preference to Green Guide ratings?
Many people in the construction industry remain familiar with Green Guide ratings as shorthand for the environmental impact of construction products. However, with more detailed environmental impact reporting now available in the form of environmental product declarations (EPDs), decisions on sustainability can be made with more information than a simple summary rating can communicate.
‘The Green Guide’ is how the BRE’s ‘Green Guide to Specification’ is usually referred to, and it was created to support BREEAM assessments. It assigned relative ratings to a range of materials and components, across multiple environmental impacts, as well as giving a summary rating. Recent versions of BREEAM have phased out the use of the Green Guide and its ratings.
What is the biggest difference between Green Guide ratings and EPDs?
For both the Green Guide and an EPD, a construction product is assessed using life cycle assessment (LCA). A significant difference between the two is that a Green Guide rating doesn’t differentiate between the different life cycle stages of the product in question, whereas an EPD does.
Product specification that is carried out with environmental impact or sustainability in mind is more sophisticated now than when the first Green Guide ratings were introduced. Choices are more likely to be made based on specific environmental goals.
For example, one specifier might seek to reduce the upfront carbon on a project, and therefore focus on the earlier life cycle stages. Another specifier might be more interested in longer term carbon reductions and the circular economy, so be willing to accept slightly higher upfront impact in order to limit the impacts later in the project.
It is this increased scope of reporting, along with more specific environmental goals, that led to BREEAM 2018 requiring evidence in the form of EPDs rather than Green Guide ratings.
While we have seen an increase in the number of people requesting copies of our EPDs, we still get enquiries from people asking about Green Guide ratings. For example, contractors might ask if we have an A+ rating because they are pricing a specification that states a product should have one.
Aside from potentially being an outdated specification that has been copied and pasted, there are a variety of reasons why basing a specification decision on a summary rating is not appropriate.
Continue reading to learn more about why EPDs are now preferred over Green Guide summary ratings. Click Here.
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Polyfoam resource
What’s caught our eye this month
Approved Documents digitalised to make compliance process simpler – via bimplus
Why Britain’s homes are so hot – via the guardian
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