GreenBuilding Rating

In order to improve the environmental performance of building materials, you first have to be able to measure this performance

The GreenBuilding trend has become increasingly popular around the world due to increasing concerns for the environment, rising energy costs, the widespread awareness of climate change and global warming.

Indeed, buildings have a huge impact on the natural environment and, to make them less harmful it has become essential to tackle climate change issues head on.

Building today is a key factor in global sustainability problems for the following reasons:

• it generates 40% of CO2 emissions;
• it consumes 35% of natural resources;
• it is responsible for 38% of global waste;
• it affects human health (Sick Building Syndrome).

In this context, Kerakoll embarked in 2000 on a preliminary study of the environmental impact of chemical building products. Drawing on the many existing studies and reports published on the effect these products have on the environment, the GreenBuilding rating was developed. This evaluation method, the first of its kind, can be used to pilot the development of products that are kinder on the environment and guide consumers in choosing them. It also filled a legislative gap, providing a clear, comprehensive system amid an abundance of voluntary, fragmented and incomplete environmental classification systems.

The GreenBuilding rating was created to give the construction industry a new benchmark for the design and construction of eco-friendly buildings using green products that help to make houses and the environment healthier and safer for humans by reducing the impact they have when they are used or destroyed.

The GreenBuilding rating is the standard to measure the environmental performance of building materials, in order to:

• obtain a standardized system measuring the “greenness” of a product;
• improve environmental performance over time;
• encourage manufacturers to develop green products;
• raise awareness of the benefits of GreenBuilding to the wider public;
• pilot the building industry towards sustainable building practices.

The GreenBuilding Rating spans 6 macro sectors of interest to the environment:

• the recovery and recycling of natural minerals;
• the reduction of CO2 emissions into the air;
• the reduced reliance on substances which are hazardous to human health and the environment;
• the quality of indoor air;
• the improvement of energy efficiency;
• the recyclability at the end of life.

Kerakoll’s climate friendly technologies can help to create healthier and more pleasant places to live and work in by playing an active role in reducing CO2 emissions. They can also be used in any kind of building, whether old or new, inside or out, and for any kind of purpose, from commercial to residential, or in schools, infrastructures and the health sector.