Sustainability - CodeMark - Electronic Specifications by Electronic Blueprint
The provision of environmentally sustainable solutions, which are both credible
and designer-friendly, represents one of the most significant challenges facing building
product-suppliers. Speaking at the recent Melbourne Infrastructure Exhibition, Rod Johnston of
ENVIROSPEC (the sustainability division of Electronic Blueprint) outlined the three major
developments which affect the selection of appropriate building products - Life-cycle based
Ecolabelling schemes; CodeMark Third-Party Certification of Alternative Solutions under the
Building Code of Australia (BCA); and Electronic Specifications.
Sustainability issues are taking on a major focus in building design and certification, with
the Building Code of Australia adopting the energy efficiency provisions of BCA Volume 1 Part
J and BCA Volume 2 Part 3.12. To date, the approach in the BCA has been to concentrate on the in-service
performance of buildings, making provision for both Deemed-to-Satisfy Solutions and
Alternative Solutions (based on computer simulation and the published verification methods).
This is a soundly-based decision, given that, in many cases, in-service energy performance
far outweighs the other energy expenditure associated with building products. However, there
is now a strong push to consider the energy involved in winning the raw materials, manufacture,
transport, construction and demolition of building products.
The Building Products Innovation Council (BPIC) is currently collecting data for the creation of
a Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). This data will be used to populate design software, enabling designers
to minimize environmental impacts. It will also be used to provide ecolabels for building products.
However, there is a real danger that the ecolabels may fail to provide enough precise data on the
in-service performance for each product, under a range of applications and climates. If unchecked,
this could lead to poor decision-making and the selection of products, which appear to be
environmentally friendly, but are in fact inappropriate for the actual application. The
ENVIROSPEC Protocol has been formulated to provide for the orderly collation of ecolabels
and other sustainability information, in a technically credible format, geared specifically
for use by designers, and tailored for marketing innovative building products in particular
applications.
This Protocol deals with the effects of a building product on the sustainable
operation of the building into which it is built, in the context of what is both common
practice and what is permissible under the Building Regulations. It provides for the
collection of data for subsequent publication in;
- Environmental Declarations (life-cycle analysis and other environmental data).
- Environmental Benchmarking (the comparison of a product's life-cycle analysis and other
environmental data to those of the most common acceptable alternative "benchmark construction").
Environmental Declarations and Environmental Benchmarking should account for the sustainability
impacts of the manufacture, transport, construction, demolition and re-use of building products,
together with their in-service performance. They should comply with ISO/DIS 21930.
There is clearly a need for product specifications to:
- Honestly identify products that contribute to sustainability;
- Clearly quantify the contribution to sustainability; and
- Advance strategies to create awareness; and distribute reliable technical data to Architects,
Engineers and Builders.
While design for sustainability continues to gain momentum, it must be remembered that it is
only partly regulated by the BCA.
Other complex changes to the BCA, and various Australian Standards called up therein, have
led to a situation where Building Surveyors, Architects, Engineers and Inspectors can no longer
be confident that particular building products are capable of achieving the performance specified
in the BCA.
One response has been the introduction of the CodeMark Scheme by the ABCB (Australian Building
Codes Board). The scheme involves the accreditation of Third Party Certifiers to issue
Certificates of Conformity for the suitability of building products in specified applications.
Assessment is against specific clauses of the BCA, either by Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions,
or as Alternative Solutions. The accreditation is the responsibility of JAS-ANZ (Joint Accreditation
System of Australia and New Zealand).
It is important to understand that CodeMark can only deal with compliance with particular
clauses of the BCA. It cannot deal with issues that are outside the scope of the BCA. For
example, it can deal with issues of energy minimization (and hence minimizing greenhouse gas
emissions) via BCA Volume 1 Part J and BCA Volume 2 Part 3.12, but it cannot deal with issues
related to recycling rain water, which is not covered by the BCA.
CodeMark certification requires the holder to have "effective control" over the manufacture,
testing, packaging, branding, delivery, installation and commissioning of the particular
products. Whilst most of these may be achieved by well managed companies, operating with
effective quality assurance systems, the installation and commissioning aspects offer a
particular challenge to manufacturers and suppliers. The most effective method of demonstrating
such control is the diligent operation of a quality management system complying with ISO 9001.
This requires, among many other matters, the preparation of a Quality Manual and Standard
Operating Procedures; and provision of an effective record-keeping system. It involves regular
Internal Management Audits, Management Reviews, Training, Nonconformance Reporting, Corrective
Action and Preventive Action.
Building Surveyors are well aware of the risks associated with approving faulty construction
and inappropriate product selection. On one hand, the advent of design for sustainability will
increase the likelihood of spurious or inappropriate claims of "greenness." On the other hand,
the orderly presentation of ecolabelling data will assist in abating this risk. The gradual
acceptance of the CodeMark scheme will further add confidence in the performance of reputable
products.
For further details of the ENVIROSPEC Protocol - http://www.electronicblueprint.com.au/suppliers/envirospec.html
For further information contact:
Electronic Blueprint
phone: +612 4360 2255
fax: +612 4360 2256
web: www.electronicblueprint.com.au
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