Spec Finish

Sustainability 16 www.thefis.org substituted without due regard, one of the biggest concerns raised in the report was the fact that the substitutions were being installed by people who didn’t really understand the products and made mistakes. That report drove the PPP strategy that FIS developed for fire protection. Iain said: “Our great industry re-invents itself every day but it is suffering from a trust issue; we are being judged by the worst of us and not the best of us. So, we have an opportunity now to help drive that change in perception and also start to look at how we attract talent, because it’s an opportunity to change that negative perception and allow people to see the industry as I do.” Sustainable products ‘Cradle to Cradle Certified®’ is a globally recognised measure of safer, more sustainable products made for the circular economy and is of benefit to the whole construction industry from specifiers through to the end users. Cradle to Cradle (C2C) is recognised as the standard for sustainable products often appearing as a preferred standard within schemes such as LEED, WELL and BREEAM. C2C certification covers five key areas: 1. material health; 2. material reutilisation; 3. renewable energy and carbon management; 4. water stewardship; and 5. social fairness. The certified level of products can go both up and down i.e., silver to bronze or silver to gold and therefore pushes manufacturers to improve their processes, packaging and supply chain to maintain certification. In terms of material reutilisation Rockfon achieved the gold standard partly due to its recycling programmes and the fact that they can use waste from others is solid proof that Rockfon products are truly circular. Material health Alan Davies, Rockfon’s Specification Manager (London) explains why material health is so important to Rockfon: “Indoor climate has a big impact on our health and wellbeing so it is vital that the materials used in the construction of our buildings impact the users as little as possible. The requirements in standards, such as the WELL Building standard, lay out minimum standards for materials to achieve certification, therefore, enhancing users’ health and wellbeing. “While there is demand from our customers to have information pertaining to material health, we provide detailed information about all our products in Product Sustainability Declarations. These include details of recycled content, sourcing and material ingredients and Environmental Product Declarations (EDP), which detail the embodied carbon to ensure that our customers can make informed decisions for their projects.” Health and wellbeing Alan continued: “Sustainability (environmental) and wellbeing (social) are two of the three bottom line priorities and go hand-in-hand with financial considerations. Human health is a key part of wellbeing. Sustainability and material health are important factors in ensuring human health in the built environment. Take a volatile substance such as formaldehyde Sounds Beautiful Part of the ROCKWOOL Group Aha! How acoustic solutions make a difference for productivity and wellbeing in office spaces Design for Offices Office Sector Guide