EcoSpexTM

Enabling green building product choices with confidence

www.ecospex.com

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Being with us, you’re in good company

90 years of expertise Manufacturers and specifiers alike will value the independence and scientific objectivity of BRE. With 90 years of expertise, BRE is a world-leading research, certification and consultancy group which delivers sustainability and innovation into the built environment and beyond.

Supporting industry

We provide the built environment industry with a trusted online resource tool for making green building product decisions.

EcoSpex provides a unique service; bringing together scientific, verified information on green building products with robust methods for sustainable design. Through our online eco-resource tool we service a user-base of design and construction industry professionals who utilize our extensive technical profiles on products to specify and select materials for green building projects.

Delivering growth opportunities

A trusted virtual space to create new business.

EcoSpex will promote thousands of sustainable products to the architect, engineering and construction (AEC) industries by providing information on technical, social, environmental and corporate attributes that is verified and updated on regular basis.

A manufacturer and their listed products will have the benefit of increased exposure to a wide range of architects, designers and procurement professionals. EcoSpex incorporates powerful search functions linked straight to the driving force within the market - how products and materials contribute to the LEED® Rating System.

Promoting green manufacturers

We provide independent, scientific, verified information on sustainable and health preferable building materials, fit-out products and technologies in over 100 categories.

By providing greater transparency EcoSpex will facilitate further differentiation of your products and their sustainable attributes. We are passionate advocates of high performance buildings and the manufacturers who develop sustainable products and materials. EcoSpex will continue to develop its relationships with industry stakeholders which will further promote a manufacturer’s products and improve sustainable design standards.

We can help your new or established organization understand the technical barriers to gain access to the market place, providing expertise in cost effective ways of developing a new building solution for new business and legislative drivers.

Exporting opportunities

We offer manufacturers a range of services to help build industry credibility in their products and to provide connections to industry professionals and associations searching for appropriate products and materials.

EcoSpex will provide a platform for companies looking to communicate their products internationally. This will reduce a manufacturer’s dependence on existing markets.

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Future Phases:

The functionality of EcoSpex is being enhanced and extended to be better positioned for the North American and global markets. Future phases will further current site navigation features, integrate Sustainable Product Construction Tips as well as integrate Building Information Modelling (BIM) into the tool.

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Verified Enhanced Listing (VEL)

Enabling the industry to make green building product choices with confidence

The value of a Verified Enhanced Listing (VEL) will strengthen a manufacturer’s brand positioning as it cuts through “greenwashing” of different eco-labels by providing clarity, transparency and authenticity as the products have been third party verified. This will enhance a manufacturer’s competitive advantage by transforming sustainability leadership into a compelling market driver.

VEL will:

– Help companies leverage sustainability as a platform for growth

– Communicate sustainable best practices within the built environment that gains approval and win tenders

– Communicate performance based technical and LCA information

– Increase awareness and support with decision makers

– Provide your product’s information in a trusted, online resource

– The enhanced listing will build loyal customers, market profile and value

– Ensure the highest green building rating system outcomes

– Build confidence and support with architects, designers and procurement professionals

– Enhance competitive advantage

– Strengthen your brand positioning

VEL Additional Value

– EcoSpex provides a Lead Inquiry Service, enabling page view tracking and reporting.

– Product inquiries will be emailed directly to the manufacturer.

EcoSpex VEL organizes product information against the various LEED® Rating Systems. This means manufacturers are able to directly link their products to the rating systems and to the specifiers and green building professionals who will use their products. Professionals using the site receive third party verification and significantly reduce their research time.

The VEL has 7 active tabs with critical information that will be collected by our research team and includes:

1 Overview

2 Technical Assessment

3 LEED® Information

4 Specifications

5 Manufacturer Experience

6 Product Library

7 Product Inquiry

3-Part Specification

Standard document recommended for use in North America by CSC and CSI.

In partnership with Digicon Information Inc., each VEL product will receive the additional value of a 3-Part Specification. This document is written to meet specification format standards as published in MasterFormat, SectionFormat, PageFormat, CSC Manual of Practice and CSI Project Resource Manual. These standards are recommended for use in North America by Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) and Construction Specifications Institute (CSI).

Each 3-Part Specification contains a Digicon Seal that reassures specifiers that the information is current, complete, and follows all industry standards approved by CSC and CSI. Resources are also available to have a multi-language specification template developed.

Providing international consultancy

We provide companies with the technical knowledge to create and implement their sustainability visions.

Our materials team is one of the most experienced sustainability consultancies in the world, helping to produce innovative, creative and cost effective sustainability outcomes for all sectors of the built environment. Our specialists have been involved in many major developments over the last 90 years. From major residential, commercial, institutional and infrastructure projects to products and suppliers and manufacturers, the materials team works with manufacturers to deliver sustainability targets and cost effective, practical green buildings and solutions.

EcoSpex also supports manufacturers to access the international market, assisting them to enhance their sustainability profile and improve standards of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD’s) and Responsible Sourcing.

What VEL delivers to the whole industry

Manufacturers

– Strengthen your brand positioning

– Understand your sustainability performance/creating market leading best practice

– Increase company and product awareness with a wide range of specifiers

– Comprehensive technical product profiles

– Provides a platform for companies looking to communicate their products internationally

– 3-Part Specification

– Gain approval and win tenders

– Build inherent value

Specifiers

– Third party product claim verification

– A trusted online resource for making green building product decisions

– Reduce time to locate and produce product information required for submission of LEED® documentation

– Intuitive search functionality from the homepage

– Comprehensive technical product profiles

– Case studies

Government

– Procurement done for you

– Metrics for industry

– Industry Trends reports

– Comprehensive technical product profiles

– Provides a platform for companies looking to communicate their products internationally

– Access to a trusted online resource tool for making green building decisions - a unique service bringing together scientific, verified information

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Your return on investment

Evidence based research

Seven years of active listening has uncovered what architects, designers and procurement professionals need to enable the development of affordable, sustainable buildings.

Blue Wilderness Management Group Inc. developed EcoSpex and had a vision to transform the construction industry. Research and development in the sustainable building materials industry resulted in policy, market research and consultation to a wide spectrum of industry associations from across Canada and best practices in Australia, New Zealand, USA and Europe.

Requirements Based

Late in 2005 research began to review the industry gaps and consultation took place with the design community as well as government to understand their issues pertaining to sourcing sustainable products in the marketplace. Concurrently, a comprehensive review of over 25 global databases of construction product standards and manufacturer services was performed. As part of this due diligence the research team conducted over 500 one-to-one workshops which uncovered the overwhelming need for a tool to enable the development of affordable, high performance buildings. This has lead to a full market appreciation of how to build a system with input from industry, government and procurement professionals. This tremendous amount of evidence based research that included both qualitative and quantitative work was funded by:

– National Research Council of Canada - Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC- IRAP)

– Public Works Government Services Canada (PWGSC)

– Private investors

Academia played a role as advisory to the system in the early stages including South Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and Ryerson University

In 2006 a partnership began with Digicon Information Inc., a well respected leader of publication and consulting services specializing in all aspects of construction specification documentation and product data development in North America. This has allowed EcoSpex to seamlessly integrate with recommended Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) and Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) MasterFormat and UniFormat specification classifications. Further, Digicon is a North American leader in producing 3-Part Specifications.

In mid-2011 Blue Wilderness Management Group Inc. sold the exclusive intellectual property of EcoSpex to UK based Building Research Establishment (BRE) Today, BRE is providing technical expertise to enhance and extend the functionality of EcoSpex to be better positioned for the North American and Global markets.

To who and where we have presented

Specifiers:

– B+H Architects – Byzantine Homes – CS&P Architects Inc. – E.R.A. Architects Inc. – IBI Group – Light House Sustainable Building Centre – MCW Engineering Consultants – Stone’s Throw Design Inc – Sweeny Sterling Finlayson & Co. Architects – TAES Architects Inc. – WHW Architects Inc.

Government:

– Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) - International Division

– Environment Canada – Export Development Canada (EDC) – Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) – Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources – Public Works Government Services Canada (PWGSC)

Industry Associations:

– Athena Sustainable Materials Institute – BIM Institute of Canada – Building Owners and Managers Association of Toronto (BOMA) – Canadian Association of Recycling Industries (CARI) – Canadian Construction Association (CCA) – Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) – Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) – International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment (iiSBE)

Industry Trade Shows and Conferences:

– Construct Canada – CSC National Conference – Greenbuild – IIDEX/NeoCon – Toronto Construction Association (TCA)

Audience reach

Forecasting our exposure based upon industry best practices.

For over 5 years EcoSpex has been communicating with Australian based ecospecifer. Their online building material database system launched in 2003. In their first year the ecospecifer website received an average of 6.5 million hits, and 250,000+ user sessions, per quarter, from the user categories noted below. It also experienced a 10-fold increase in the use of their tool.

BRE Canada

E info@brecanada.com W www.brecanada.com

Toronto

T 416 599 4273 F 416 599 0273

Thornbury

T 519 599 6003 F 519 599 2776

BRE Trust The BRE Trust uses profits made by BRE Group to fund new research and education programmes, that will help it meet its goal of ‘building a better world together’.The BRE Trust is a registered charity in England & Wales: No. 1092193, and Scotland: No. SC039320.

Additional service offerings

Offering manufacturers a range of technical services to help build industry credibility and to further your current relationships.

EcoSpex offers technical expertise and a number of value added services that encourage and guide manufacturers to develop their own capacity to be more attuned to the built environment and produce more sustainable products which will be specified to create healthier places in which to live and work.

Product Showcasing- Product Listing

Provides a robust, qualified eco-profiling methodology to verify green building materials, fitout products and technologies making your information accessible to the construction industry.

– Basic Listing

– Verified Enhanced Listing

Sustainable Product Certification

– Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) BRE has completed over 1000 EPD’s for over 50 companies

– Responsible Sourcing

Consulting

– Lifecycle Analysis (LCA)

– Market overview/Analysis

– Technical/Gap Review

Product Innovation

– Ask us about our Network of Innovation Parks