Consumption and production

By and - , Build 167

Continuing the series on the un’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their importance to the construction industry, this Build looks at SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production patterns.

HOW CONSUMERS and the building industry produce and consume building products is critically important in addressing sustainability.

The building and construction industry uses vast amounts of products made from raw materials such as timber, concrete and steel to create our built environment. These materials are used across a building’s life cycle, and in that time, the building can use significant amounts of energy and water and generate large amounts of waste as packaging, off-cuts and scrap.

Most of this waste currently goes to landfill. Much needs to be done to minimise construction waste in the residential and commercial building sectors, especially in the regions (see Build 164, Waste in the regions, pages 71–72).

Verifying materials over their life cycle

Implementing SDG 12 for sustainable consumption and production in the building industry means examining these materials to determine whether their use is sustainable at all stages in their life cycle. It also means limiting environmental effects by active management.

This process calls for some form of independent verification. Timber, for example, can be sourced from sustainable forestry operations certified by schemes such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

FSC and PEFC promote the SDG goal of responsible sustainable consumption and production, as it allows manufacturers to source from sustainably managed forests and consumers to choose sustainably produced materials. Certification schemes like FSC contribute targets on sustainable management to support natural resource use, report on sustainable practices and provide information and awareness about sustainable public procurement. They also contribute to capacity building in developing countries.

Third-party monitoring effective

A study by the University of Surrey in the UK noted that third-party monitoring can be more effective in supporting sustainable consumption and production than imposing standards through legislation and regulation.

Another example is insulation that brings essential benefits to building occupants through increased thermal comfort and energy efficiency, keeping heat in during winter and cooling in summer. This, together with adequate heating and ventilation, ensures a healthier indoor environment and greater occupant health and wellbeing.

Insulation comes in a range of forms including natural wool, glass wool, polyester, mineral wool, polystyrene and foams. In New Zealand, the Environmental Choice New Zealand ecolabel has a certification for insulation covering these products. As a Type I ecolabel, that certification considers the life cycle of the insulation materials from raw materials sourced for its initial manufacturing through to its usage and eventual disposal or recycling.

Ecolabels inform sustainable choices

For many building products, the greatest environmental impacts occur during manufacturing. Building products and materials often have hidden environmental impacts, highlighting the usefulness of ecolabels in creating awareness for more sustainable decisions to be made.

The Environmental Choice New Zealand ecolabel identifies which products are environmentally preferable in terms of managing environmental risks, such as greenhouse gas emissions.

Ecolabels like Environmental Choice give consumers assurance that what they buy does meet environmental standards – without obliging them to do a great deal of research. They encourage better product design and also take a life-cycle perspective. Manufacturers of products with the label take responsibility for environmental impacts right to the end of product life and don’t shift the burden to others.

SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production patterns is a necessary part of creating a low-carbon built environment as it places responsibility on consumers and industry to think about environmental impacts in their decision making and choices.

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