EDECONEco design for the Construction Industry

Wendy Carmichael

Agenda• Introduction• EDECON• Why Construction?• Eco Design• Life Cycle Stages &Typical Impacts• Product Lifecycle Impact Tool• Opportunities• Business Benefits

EDECON

• Eco Design for the Construction Industry

Why the Construction Industry?26 million

50% 35%

• Policy Measures supporting Europe 2020• COM(2011) 21 A resource-efficient Europe• COM(2011) 571 - The Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe• COM/2013/0196 - Communication on Building the Single Market for

Green Products• puts forward two methods to measure environmental performance throughout the

lifecycle, the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and the Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF)

• Rec 2013/179/EU - Commission Recommendation of 9 April 2013 on the use of common methods to measure and communicate the life cycle environmental performance of products and organisations

Change in emphasis from energy to resource efficiency and wider life cycle considerationsChange in emphasis from energy to resource efficiency and wider life cycle considerations

Policy Trends & Issues

• Regulation No 305-2011 on the Marketing of Construction Products

• Directive 2001/925/EC on Eco-design of Energy Related Products

• Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU(Recast)

• Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC)

Environmental legislation in C&D Sector

Why is Eco Design so Important?

10

Extraction of raw materials

Manufacturing Packaging and

distribution

Use and maintenance

Incineration and disposal

Cradle to Grave

11

Cradle to Cradle

Life Cycle Stages

Life cycle Impacts

Product Lifecycle Impact Tool

Exercise

Identify Hotspots

UPVC Window

Materials

UPVC ProductionNatural Gas/Oil Salt Water

Ethylene Chlorine

1-2, Dichloroethane(Ethylene dichloride)

Vinyl chloride monomer

Polyvinyl chloride resin

Vinyl chloride ‘compound’

Mercury or Asbestos

Additives

EthyleneEthylene Dichloride

DioxinOrganochlorines

Vinyl Chloride

Vinyl Chloride

Polyvinyl Chloride

phthalates

electrolysiscracking process

oxychlorination

cracking

polymerisation

Glass Production

Product Lifecycle Impact Tool

Energy

Water

Waste

Hazardous Waste

Pollution

Social

Eco Design Strategies

• Reduce weight and volume of product• Reduce number of parts• Increase use of recycled materials • Increase use of renewable/sustainable materials • Increase incorporation of used components• Reduce the use of scarce materials• Use locally available materials• Eliminate hazardous substances• Choose biodegradable materials• Reduce number of parts

Opportunities – Materials

Olympic Stadium compression truss• Lightweight structure• Manufactured from sub-prime steel (gas pipelines)• £0.5 million cost saving

Opportunities - Materials

Use used/recycled/renewable

Use LessVelodrome cable net roof:

• 90% saving in mass of steel• 6 week build period• £5.8 million cost saving

Opportunities - Materials

Opportunities - Transport of raw materials

• Local suppliers• Local products• Optimise delivery loads• Lightweight products• Carbon neutral delivery companies• Investigate collaboration with other companies• Give preference to low carbon transport mode

Transport

Transport of raw materials for glass manufacture

• Reduce energy consumption requirements• Reduce water consumption requirements• Use renewable energy• Recycle water• Reduce/Reuse process waste• Replace hazardous processes• Consider implementing an environmental

management system (EMS)

Opportunities – Design for Manufacturing

Mohawk Flooring

•Mohawk SmartStrand carpet

•Renewably sourced polymer, made in part from corn starch

•30% less energy required than the production of an equal amount of nylon

Opportunities – Design for Manufacturing

• Minimize product size and weight• Optimise shape and volume for maximum packing density• Reduce weight and size of packaging – avoid over packaging• Increase use of recycled materials in packaging• Use reusable/refillable/recyclable packaging• Develop local market• Give preference to shipping for international transport and rail

for domestic transport needs to reduce carbon emissions.• Combine orders to reduce transportation requirements• Engine management systems/SAFED driver training

Opportunities – Design for Distribution

Everest Ltd•Manufacturer of double-glazed windows and conservatories

•Realised that it could reduce packaging without increasing damage to its products during transit.

•Stopped using stretch-wrap around the glass frames

•The packaging supplier produced redesigned packaging made out of foam protectors at less cost

•The changes resulted in cost savings of £90,000/year due to:• reduced labour time;• reduced material costs;• reduced disposal costs.

Opportunities – Design for Distribution

• Reduce energy & water requirements, consider renewable sources of energy

• Reduce requirement for consumables• Maximise product lifetime - durable, reliable, easy to

maintain, repair & upgrade• Reduce emissions to air, water and soil during use• Educate user on efficient operation of equipment• Consider other complementary functions• Consider providing additional services• Consider selling a service rather than a product

Opportunities – Design For Use

Opportunities – Design For Use

• Restrict use of substances classified as hazardous • Make it easy to dismantle to enable reuse, disassembly and

recycling• Mark all materials using internationally recognised codes,

especially polymers and other recyclable materials• Avoid aspects detrimental to reuse and recycling e.g.

mixtures of materials• Educate user on correct disposal of equipment• Consider take-back systems (reduce raw material costs)

Opportunities – Design For End of 1st Life

Anglian Windows

Tackles raw materials shortage by creating new carpet tiles from old

Business Benefits of Eco Design

Thank you