Just like what happens in the car market, even the construction sector is gradually raising the bar beyond which we can talk about “green” solutions. The sensitivity of the end consumer is not the same and, if in the 4-wheel world terms such as Euro 5 and Euro 6 are grasped by everyone, the unit of measurement for assessing sustainability (and therefore quality) of a property is still not very clear and agreed upon. Yet even in this case, some internationally recognised programmes can guide us in our choice. To continue the parallel, a Euro 6 car (the highest environmental class) corresponds to a “Platinum LEED” building.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a certification system for buildings, developed in the United States by the U.S. Green Building Council and distributed today in over 140 countries around the world, including Italy, where it is applicable even voluntarily. According to the programme, properties may fall into four different classes of sustainability – basic, silver, gold and platinum – depending on the score achieved in the 6 key factors that ensure quality and efficiency.
Compared to the well known CasaClima mark, the LEED system goes beyond energy efficiency and also assesses site sustainability, efficient water management, design and innovation, materials and resources, indoor air quality.
Scoring 100, the maximum score, it is interesting to note that the choice of materials and indoor air pollution account for 29% of the end result, while energy accounts for 20%. The reason is obvious: we spend 90% of our time inside buildings, where the treatments used for wood, as well as paints, adhesives, textiles or plastics may cause the emission of substances harmful to human health.
Human health and the environment are essential values for Biopietra® who has long been committed to promote through innovation the culture of sustainability in the construction market. Biopietra is now a partner of the Green Building Council Italy and there are many testimonies that demonstrate Biopietra®’s strength and real commitment in the production of materials with a low environmental impact. Biopietra® is not only production, it is a “sustainable” product: Biopietra® is health, immune from the major causes of domestic pollution and has no Radon emissions.
The Product life cycle assessment is conducted in order to verify significant improvement and measurable performance of buildings in terms of environmental sustainability and, therefore, to activate credit IP1 – innovation in design. Applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, according to ISO 14040, the environmental product profile is drawn up through which material and energy flows, identified throughout the entire product life cycle are sorted, categorized and aggregated in different categories of environmental impact, also called aggregate indicators of impact.
