© ecospecifier 2004
Greening the Market: Ecospecifier and Its Impacts
David Baggs FRAIA
Natural Integrated Living
TEFMA ConferenceJuly 04
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Everything you do has an impact on the environment …at some
level
Implementing Sustainability is a way of ensuring a better,
safer and more stable future…
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Sustainability needs to deliver outcomes in:
•Social•Environmental•Economic
•Political (Policies @ Local, State & National) &
•Education spheres
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Ecological Footprint
– Australia’s Ecological Footprint is similar to the US
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US raw material consumption, 1900-1995 (Matos & Wagner)
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Building activity consumes about 40% of the planet’s material resources ~
Approximately 3 billion tonnes of raw minerals/year
Construction MateialsOther
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Australian Commodities Moved, 2000-01. Total 1.17
billion tonnes (ABS 9220.0 p.27) – approx 60 tonnes per person
Grain5%
Food, bevs, animals
10%
Crude materials
6%
Wood, cork3%
Coal, gas & petroleum
27%
General freight7%Manuf goods
7%
Chemicals2%
Metal ores, iron & steel
24%Stone sand,
gravel & cement
9%
© ecospecifier 2004
Contributions of inputs from Australian life to economy, employment, greenhouse gas emissions
(ABS, ABARE data aggregated by A. Pears)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Food prod'n, processing
Materials
Goods
Services
Transport
Shelter
Energy, water supply
% GDP %Employment %Greenhouse
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Victorian Wastes, 2000-01 (EcoRecycle 2002).
0200400600800
100012001400160018002000
Clean fi
ll
Food &
Gre
enwas
te
Concr
ete/b
ricks
Timber
Paper
/card
bd
Oth
er
Meta
ls
Plastic
Glas
s
Oth
er or
ganics
Landfill RecycledKilotonnes pa
91% of recycled
metal is steel
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Resource Recovery
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Material Ecological Rucksacks
– The production of most common materials is inherently wasteful
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What is an Eco-material?
Materials that are environmentally preferred…
–Are salvaged, or contain recycled materials; –Extraction processes are not harmful;–Manufacturing causes no harm;–Requires minimal maintenance in use;–Doesn’t cause illness;–Reusable or recyclable with minimal additional energy or processing;–Are durable
© ecospecifier 2004
Renewable resources can be used in
unsustainable ways
– No materials are innocent.
Renewable or Non-Renewable?
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What is a Sustainable Material?
Even environmentally friendly materials can be used in unsustainable ways!
Ecological sustainability is an emergent quality of a designed system – sustainability is a property of
design, not of a material.
‘Built’ systems‘Construction’ systems‘Procurement’ systems
‘Supply’ systems
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Natural Systems:
Emulating Natural Systems is more sustainable- they…
Use new things leastTurn “waste into food”- ie, no wasteUse all available energy qualityBecome resilient by developing diversityAre cyclic not linear
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Materials cycles planning
– Fast-cycling materials and systems need to be able to be replaced without damaging slow-cycling materials
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Environmental performance rating
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Understanding BarriersGreenwash
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Understanding Barriers
Disparate data-sets
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What are the detail issues?
Life Cycle Stage
Life cycle issue
Upstream Habitat and Land Degradation
Transport (of raw materials and finished product)
Rare and non-renewable materials
Embodied Energy
GHG emissions including Transport
Resource efficiency (of raw material extraction and waste during manufacture)
Toxicity to Air Land and Water
Rapidly Renewable Material
Recycled materials content
Vital signs
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Life Cycle Stage
Life cycle issue
In use/Operation
Energy Efficiency in Use (GHG Emissions)
Resource Efficiency (water and waste in use)
Human health (toxics/reactive organics/carcinogens, EMR)
Maintenance requirements
Durability
Cost
What are the detail issues?
© ecospecifier 2004
Life Cycle Stage
Life cycle issue
Downstream End of use: re-use/recycling
Toxicity to Air Land and Water
What are the detail issues?
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Identifying Priorities
Priority setting: ‘Global Environmental Priorities’
Relatively High-Risk Problems
Relatively Medium-Risk Problems
Relatively Low-Risk Problems
Habitat Alteration and Destruction Species Extinction and Overall Loss of Biodiversity Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Global Climate Change
Herbicides/Pesticides Toxics, Nutrients, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, and Turbidity in Surface Waters Acid Deposition Airborne Toxics
Oil Spills Groundwater Pollution Radionuclides Acid Runoff to Surface Waters Thermal Pollution
Source: Ecology and Welfare Subcommittee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Science Advisory Board 1990.
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Global & Australian Environmental Priorities:
• Biodiversity/Habitat destruction• Climate Change (energy,
methane)• Toxics emissions to air, land and
water• Resource use- water, land • Biological oxygen demand
(nutrients) & turbidity (fine particles) in rivers and sea
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Global & Australian Social & Economic Priorities :
• Human Health• Thermal Comfort• Security• Equitable access • Economically affordable
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Global & Australian Sustainability Priorities:
• Biodiversity/Habitat destruction• Climate Change (energy, methane)• Human Health, Toxics emissions to
air, land and water• Resource use- water, land • Biological oxygen demand & turbidity• Equitable access • Economically affordable
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Identify Project Priorities
Setting targets, benchmarks, minimums
• Does the client have particular requirements? What are these?
• Is the project being assessed against a market assessment tool e.g. Greenstar? ABGRT? BERS? BASIX?
• Does the project have to meet unwritten rules e.g. local products?
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Work with What’s Possible
Select the best in class
• Identify the low-hanging fruit
• Differences within a class of product can be staggering
• Take a systems approach first, and then looking for the best performers that address the eco-priorities goes a long way.
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Looking at Priorities
Embodied energy of base building: 50,000m2 office
Source: http://buildlca.rmit.edu.au/menu9.html
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Have the Information Available
Concrete Steel
Conventional Product
High Recycled Content
Conventional vs. high-recycled content products
Cost penalty: $0
Source: CFD simapro modelling on 55% slag extender and 100% recycled steel from electric arc furnace
© ecospecifier 2004
Right Questions in Right OrderEmbodied vs. operational energy
Source: Treloar et al. 1997
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Have a Robust Methodology
Initial vs. ‘in-use’ impacts
• Reality can be counter intuitive
Int Jnl LCA 4 (6) 1999 “Including the Use Phase in LCA of Floor Coverings” p.326
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Identifying the low hanging fruit
Based on Embodied Energy and Resource
Consumption the major fitout issues in priority are:
1. Furniture;
2. Floor Finishes;
3. Wall finishes;
4. Internal Walls
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Decision Making
Project Specific Checklist for materials
1. Appropriate use: is it necessary?
2. Fate: start with the end in mind
3. Energy: assess net energy over life
4. Biodiversity: protect and preserve
5. Toxicity: acute, persistent and/or accumulative?
6. Resources: scarce or non-renewable?
7. Social: socially sustainable?
8. Systems thinking: does it create design synergies?
© ecospecifier 2004
What is ecospecifier?
ecospecifier is a guide to innovative eco-preferable products and materials for the construction industry, specifically tailored
to the needs of decision makers and specifiers
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EcoSpecifier delivers both knowledge and product data
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ecospecifier: why now?A range of new standards, including:
the Aust. Green Building Council’s ‘GreenStars’ rating tools, Building Code of Australia Energy changes, The mandatory NSW Enviro’ rating tool ‘BASIX’The ACT ‘High Quality Building Design’ PolicySE QLD’s Sustainable Residential CodeThe Aust. Building Greenhouse Rating Tool and‘NABERS’ the National Building Environment Rating Scheme
of the Aust. Dept Environment and Heritage
Are just some of the policies driving the need for material and product assessment in the market place
© ecospecifier 2004
ecospecifier: why now?
As well as the increasing awareness of up and downstream implications of design & materials decisions in economic, social/legal/OH&S and ecological contexts
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ecospecifier: project partners
.
• RMIT University’s Centre for Design, leaders in eco-design and life-cycle assessment, and
• Natural Integrated Living, the award-winning NSW & QLD based ESD consultancy led by David Baggs and Mary-Lou Kelly
ecospecifier is a not-for-profit collaboration between:
© ecospecifier 2004
ecospecifier: building an industry service
ecospecifier is a totally independent subscription–based service
130 products available in the public domain
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ecospecifier features:
and a subscriber database of over 1000 eco-preferable products independently vetted against 30 common industry categories and 130 sub categories
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ecospecifier features:
technical guides for in-depth information on complex issues such as plastics, paints and adhesives, carpets, timber specification, life-cycle, etc.
extensive links further resources
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ecospecifier features:
monthly updates
regular feature products
local and international case studies
monthly newsletter
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ecospecifier: product assessment
ecospecifier is not about product certification but:
providing information for improving decision making
improving the quality and transparency of information on the sustainability of products in the marketplace
© ecospecifier 2004
ecospecifier: product assessment5 levels of data quality identified
• Ecolabels (Australian and International)• Life-cycle assessed• Independent verification• Manufacturer declaration (ecospecifier
questionnaire certified by director of company under trade practices act)
• Expert assessment • …and combination of above
© ecospecifier 2004
ecospecifier features:
may be queried by Product Categories (selector.com) and sub-categories (e.g. floors> carpet), by Eco-Outcomes (e.g. ‘water efficient’, ‘low VOC’) and user Keyword
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ecospecifier: building knowledge
recognising that there is no replacement for face-to-face learning and peer-to-peer education ecospecifier produces in-depth seminars
these can be general or organisation specific
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ecospecifier: a flyover
© ecospecifier 2004
product search
This search is for interior grade paint products
• Select the ‘Product Search’ Screen• Use the ‘Product Category’ pull-down’s to
find the category ‘Paints and Surface Treatments’ with the sub-category ‘Paints and Stains’
• • BUT before doing the search check the ‘Category Eco-priorities’
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Check eco-priorities first!
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Clicking on ‘Eco-Priorities’ links through to the data-sheets on priority setting for applications and categories
Priority areas to look for in search results
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Further guidance is given in the balance of the datasheet:
‘For & Against’ issues for common paint products
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Click on the assessment Criteria to find out more about them
Product name and link to product data-sheet
Supplier and state availability links
Product advantage areas, which also link to the product data-sheet
:
So, returning to the product search a subscriber search returns 27 products – a non-subscriber search returns 4.
© ecospecifier 2004
To refine the outcome a Boolean search can be launched by using a further ‘keyword’ search – when a suitable product is found, click to the product
data
Indicative cost information
Assessment Criteria met and additional detail
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Different levels of product data is available depending on the information available from manufacturers
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The product data-sheet provides extensive information about the product and its benefits. At the bottom of the page is a link through to the supplier data:
All email and web hotlinks
are live
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In summary…
ecospecifier provides compelling, high-quality knowledge about innovative products that represent high value over their total life in the context of the people, buildings and systems they serve; and
finally makes specifying eco-preferable products economic and achievable in the context of realistic project budgets
© ecospecifier 2004
High use levels…- Averaging 500-600 sessions per day - Over 4,000,000 hits since inception- Manufacturers have approached with
nearly 200 new materials- Some manufacturers using
questionnaires to structure new product development
- Defence, BCC and other councils, Greening the Supply chain
© ecospecifier 2004
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www.ecospecifier.orgnext generation innovation