40 YEARS a strong community - Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V - Institut Bauen und ...
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Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V.
ECOLOGY
COMMUNITY
SUSTAINABILITY
CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS
DECLARATION
40 YEARS
a strong community
Contents
Foreword: Dr Barbara Hendricks,
President of the IBU ������������������������������������������������ 04
40 years of the Institut Bauen und Umwelt (IBU)
in Germany������������������������������������������������������������� 06
From the AUB to the IBU – a sustainable construction
products success story ������������������������������������������� 10
The EPD creation process ���������������������������������������� 14
Hans Peters,
Chairman of the IBU Outlook: Dr Alexander Röder, Managing Director of
the IBU and Hans Peters, Chairman of the IBU ��������� 28
"Guided by the Future" symposium and IBU Annual
General Meeting 2021 ��������������������������������������������� 30
FROM THE VISION TO THE STANDARD
“The IBU is the most successful
cooperation in the construction sector“
Construction and the environment go hand in hand; it is only
through construction that the environment becomes a living
space. This is associated with an expenditure of energy
and resources. 40 years ago, making this transparent and
16 20
assessable for the purpose of sustainable development,
Impressum was the vision of a few responsibly-minded construction ma-
terial manufacturers. Today this idea has become a self-image
among the producers of construction products. Uniquely GUT Admonter
not only in Germany, but throughout the whole world, an indus-
try unanimously decided to draw up sustainability-related infor-
mation in a science-based normative process and to subject it
to verification. The construction industry is thus the trailblazer
of all industrial sectors.
A sustainability assessment of construction products is only
possible within the context of the structure and against the
background of its use and life cycle. Therefore, in addition to the
life cycle assessment, system-relevant information such as the
24
functional unit and environmentally relevant instructions for use
are decisive for the market acceptance of environmental prod-
uct declarations (EPD). The IBU members got together to publish
these according to uniform rules. dormakaba
Apart from the history of the IBU and an explanation of the crea-
Best Practice
tion of EPDs, we have also included several best practice exam-
ples of our members in our anniversary brochure, to show how
naturally and positively the topic of sustainability has now hit
home in the construction industry.
GUT������������������������������������������������������������������������ 16
I wish you entertaining reading.
Admonter���������������������������������������������������������������� 20
dormakaba ������������������������������������������������������������� 24
2 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020
Photo: Inga Haar / IBU
Transparency Against this background, Institut Bauen und Umwelt (IBU) and
its members must be given great credit for foreseeing this de-
as the decisive first step towards full development velopment decades ago and for beginning to publish appropri-
ate information on construction products. The environmental
of the potential in sustainable building product declarations or EPDs, in whose development the IBU
played a decisive role, are now the standard for the provision of
transparent and credible data about the environmental impact
of construction products.
This success should encourage us to tackle the work that lies
Dr Barbara Hendricks, ahead, until we can truly speak of comprehensively sustainable
President of the IBU construction. The creation of transparency, for which IBU stands,
"
was the decisive first step, but others must follow so that the
construction materials sector can fully exhaust its potential with
S
regard to sustainability. IBU’s data is available to the public for
ustainability has many facets: Environmental impacts the design and optimisation of buildings and should be used
and resource efficiency, health and safety effects, com- even more. IBU also carried out important groundwork in this
pliance with and implementation of social standards as area with its digitalisation strategy, as well as with its tireless
well as dealing with criticism fairly, openly and constructively advertising for life cycle assessment, and its work continues.
– all this belongs to sustainability, is what makes sustainability
what it is. The provision of affordable living space is thus also In addition, it is also necessary to examine regularly whether
an element of sustainable building. Even though the latter topic the scope of information covered by the EPDs is still appropri-
is particularly close to my heart, here I would like to draw atten- ate. With its new SuPIM (Sustainable Product Information Mod-
tion to another topic. ule) database, IBU supplements the classic EPD in several re-
spects, yet it is perfectly feasible that more additional formats
Life cycle assessment, consideration of the entire life cycle of a will have to be developed for dealing with resource efficiency or
product combined with uniform and scientifically sound stand- social responsibility.
ards, has established itself as the most important tool in the
assessment of ecological sustainability. In the building, the Each producer of construction materials has the opportunity to
environmental footprint of the selected materials is becoming optimise the environmental footprint of their products and pro-
increasingly important: While in buildings built pre-1970 the cesses over the entire life cycle on the basis of EPDs and life
manufacture of the materials contributed only a minuscule por- cycle assessments – and they should make use of this oppor-
tion of the greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption tunity repeatedly.
measured over the entire life cycle, data of the German Sustain-
able Building Council (“Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltig- One thing is already certain: There is still plenty to do. Not only
es Bauen” - DGNB) suggests that the ratio of material to con- in my function as President but also as a consumer, I would
sumption is inverting. In present day buildings designed and like to advise all member companies to use the IBU more as
built under sustainable aspects the share of energy supply is a platform for cross-industry exchange of experiences, in order
reducing continuously, so that if further progress is made the to be heard as a strong voice in the discussions on the topic of
“
production of construction materials will dominate the life cycle sustainable building, because sustainability and climate pro-
assessment of the building in the foreseeable future. tection concerns us all.
4 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020 ibu-epd.com 5
40 years of the Institut Bauen und Umwelt
(IBU) in Germany
U
Sustainability, environmental nlimited growth is not possible Sociopolitically, a decade of consump-
protection and transparency: on a planet with limited resourc- tion and brand awareness begins with
es. This truth, formulated by the the 1980s. People start to define them-
This is what the “Institut “Club of Rome” at the beginning selves much more through their life-
Bauen und Umwelt” stands of the 1970s in its famous report on the style.
for. This year it celebrates its “Limits to Growth” is today more true
than ever before. The report was the start At the same time, 1980 is the year in
40th birthday and can look of a topic shifting into the focus of soci- which the political awakening of envi-
back on a success story. ety that until then had hardly attracted ronmental awareness occurred. Led by
any attention: environmental protection. Greenpeace and a newly formed “green
Nonetheless, it still took almost another movement”: “Ecological, directly demo-
decade before the environmental move- cratic, social, non-violent” – peace, en-
ment also found its way into the German vironmental and women’s rights activ-
parliament. ists met under this motto to found the
“Die Grünen” (Green) party. In 1986,
2004
As the predecessor of the Institute of the Federal Ministry for Environment,
Building and the Environment (“Institut Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
Bauen und Umwelt” - IBU) was founded (“Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Natur-
in 1980, very little pointed in this direc- schutz und Reaktorsicherheit” - BMU) is
tion. Economically, the situation in 1980 founded.
was calm. Very few people anticipated
that the so-called “second oil crisis” in A significant consequence for the con-
the ensuing years would lead to the se- struction sector is that politicians
verest recession since the birth of the passed the first energy saving legal re-
Federal Republic of Germany. In 1980, quirements. In doing so, the legislator
the unemployment rate was a moderate recognises that construction works are
3.8 percent. Three years later it would be material and energy-intensive. This ap-
over nine percent. plies to their erection, but also to the ‣
1980 2000 2002 2005 2006 2008
• Formation of the • Inclusion of life cycle assessments • Further development of the environmen- • Publication of the •O
fficial introduction of the environ- • The AUB is renamed
Arbeitsgemeinschaft in the environmental certificates tal certificates into environmental decla- first EPD (Rockwool) mental product declaration (EPD) Institut Bauen und
Umweltverträgliches rations (birth of the present-day EPDs) at the AUB Congress in Stuttgart Umwelt (IBU)
Bauprodukt (AUB) in ARBEITSGEMEINSCHAFT
UMWELTVERTRÄGLICHES
BAUPRODUKT E.V.
• Prof Horst Bossenmayer
Munich • Foundation of the Advisory Board is the new President • Start of a four-year roadshow • Official presentation
of the IBU at an international
• Start of the development of • Move of the office from Munich to congress for sustainable building
environmental certificates Königswinter (Consense)
6 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020 ibu-epd.com 7
maintenance and energy expenditure By the end of the 1990s, with the so- short, in their present day format. Unlike, of the EPDs as a standard for details of clearly show the growing significance of
over their period of use. The require- called life cycle assessment and its inter- for example, the “Blaue Engel” (“Blue the environmentally related information the topic for sustainable building.”
ments affect an important branch of national standardisation, an instrument Angel” ecolabel), they are not a rating for construction products. In 2011, the
the economy: In housing construction for the construction industry was then label, but instead provide the data from EU worked on the corresponding amend- The future is digitalisation
around 389,000 housing units are com- created for the first time, with which the which the respective life cycle balance ment of the Construction Products Regu-
pleted in 1980, which remained roughly essential environmentally relevant in- of the building can be compiled from lation. In this procedure the IBU was able Five years ago the IBU began preparing
The entire constant until the mid-1980s. By way of formation could be recorded, calculated the life cycle balances of the individual to convince the European Commission information digitally under IBU.data,
construction material comparison: In 2016, the umbrella or-
ganisation of the German building sec-
and compared scientifically. The first life
cycle assessments were still extremely
construction products. And this is in turn
acknowledged by certifications which re-
that EPDs are the suitable tool for doc-
umenting environmentally related infor-
to make the sustainability-related data
BIM-compatible. Building Information
industry now uses the tor for West and East Germany together time-consuming, because in principle, ward (e.g. LEED) or even require (DGNB, mation. The reference to EPDs was in- Modelling (BIM) is software based on
each product had to be tracked “manu- BNB) the provision of EPDs or rather the cluded in the recitals of the Construction 3D-modelling, which architects, engi-
environmental product
counted only 228,000 completions and
304,000 building permits. ally”. The first databases were then cre- calculation of life cycle assessments for Products Regulation on the significant neers and contractors use to design and
declarations ated, in which the generic environmen- building optimisation. Following exten- effects on the environment. build. “With our IBU.data and SuPIM of-
From the simple data sheet to the tal profiles of many products could be sive adjustments and analyses, in 2006 fer we are on a course fit for the future,
developed by the IBU, complex life cycle assessment found. The next step was then to provide the first EPD in the present day format The office of the IBU knew how to use this for providing our sustainability data for
when it comes to But in the same year 1980, a dozen
product-specific data in EPDs. was issued to Rockwool. reference, as an instrument recommend-
ed by the EU, as well as the obligatory CE
many new solutions”, emphasised IBU’s
Managing Director Dr Alexander Röder.
providing transparent construction material manufactur- The AUB and its members very quickly The persons responsible in the AUB marking resolutely: Over the years the With this digitalisation step it becomes
recognised the opportunities resulting at the time used these developments society developed from one of a dozen possible for sustainability-related data
and credible
ers demonstrate their foresight and
found the Environmentally Compati- from the life cycle assessment: With to also redevelop its internal struc- pioneers into the largest association of to be one of the future daily tools of the
environmental and ble Construction Product Joint Venture the support of the German Environmen- ture and public image. In 2008, the manufacturers in the construction mate- trade of architects and engineers.
(“Arbeitsgemeinschaft Umweltverträgli- tal Agency and scientists such as Dr “Arbeitsgemeinschaft Umweltverträgli- rial industry.
sustainability ches Bauprodukt” - AUB). The objective Eva Schmincke and Prof Dr-Ing Thomas ches Bauprodukt” (AUB) renamed itself For this next development step, by ac-
information on of the initiative was to publish environ-
mental criteria, jointly and on the basis
Lützkendorf, the scientific findings were
specified and made practicable for the
the Institute of Building and the Envi-
ronment (“Institut Bauen und Umwelt” -
The entire construction material indus-
try now uses the environmental product
quiring the former Federal Minister for
the Environment and Construction, Dr
construction of binding standards, which at the time construction industry. At the same time, IBU). In 2013 it moved from Königswinter declarations developed by the IBU, when Barbara Hendricks, we were able to ac-
the EU’s Construction Products Direc- to Berlin. The long-standing President it comes to providing transparent and quire a President who stands for inde-
components and
already included the use, life, landfill
disposal and recycling of the products. tive was harmonised. It now formulated of the Deutsche Institut für Bautechnik, credible environmental and sustainabil- pendent, transparent and credible infor-
products. These manufacturer’s declarations were so-called essential requirements which, Professor Horst Bossenmayer, became ity information on construction compo- mation.
issued as a data sheet on environmen- among other things, concern hygiene, the neutral and honorary President of the nents and products. The IBU sees itself
tal compatibility. Workgroups and an health and environmental protection as association in 2005. as a cross-industry and independent in- She will be able to build on a very good
assessment committee formed to check well as the sustainable use of resources. stitute. foundations: The IBU played a significant
the information. The environmental EU recognises the value of EPDs role in making the terms sustainability
compatibility data sheets were thus an Further development through to the “Our success was and is extraordinary”, and environmental protection omnipres-
important first step towards more trans- environmental product declaration Alongside the growing demand due to the IBU Chairman Hans Peters is pleased ent in today’s construction industry and
parency. Yet criticism/reservations were certification systems such as the DGNB to say. “Today more than 200 firms and thus allowing the construction industry
also expressed, as the information was The members of the AUB used these ba- and the will of several pioneers to cre- associations are members of the IBU, to assume a vanguard role among all sec-
based on manufacturer’s declaration sic conditions to develop today’s Ger- ate transparency with regard to the en- which represents far more than 3,000 tors of industry in Germany with regard to
and there was not yet any scientific as- man and international standard Environ- vironmental impacts of their products, companies in total. More than 1,800 EPDs information about sustainability and the
sessment at that time. mental Product Declarations, or EPDs for the EU also acknowledged the potential and over 300,000 downloads in 2019 environment. ●
2011 2012 2013 2017 2019 2020
• IBU reaches 500 direct and indirect • Publication of the • IBU is the initiator and founding • Complete • Record: 303,569 EPD downloads • 18/12/2020 –
members. European standard member of the ECO Platform. digitalisation of the in one year 40 years IBU
EN 15804 IBU EPDs (IBU.data)
• In response to an IBU initiative, • The EU Construction Products • Dr Barbara Hendricks is
27 organisations from 17 EU mem- • Mutual recognition of TYPE III Regulation comes into force • IBU becomes Europe’s largest the new President
ber states sign a memorandum for environmental declarations for federation of manufacturers in the
foundation of the ECO Platform. construction products in Europe • The IBU office moves to Berlin construction materials industry.
8 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020 ibu-epd.com 9
2008: Hans Peters, Chairman of the IBU and
Prof Dr Horst Bossenmayer, IBU President
at the time, are pleased about the
From the AUB to the IBU
renaming from the AUB to the IBU.
a sustainable construction products
success story
Scientific findings and between the constituents processed in exemplary, in fact almost visionary, in
political requirements are not products and that which is emitted dur- one point: At a very early stage it had rec-
ing use, for example, gas emissions. The ognised that the topic of environmental
implemented in industry objective of the AUB was therefore to ob- product declaration or life cycle assess-
automatically. This requires jectify the discussions. ments would be very important in the
competent mediators such future. But it is not sufficient to merely
How did you objectify the discussion have a good idea, you must also be able
as the IBU. We discussed this back then? to “sell” it. This is why we developed dif-
with the Chairman Hans Peters ferent models from normative approach-
and the long-standing Prof Bossenmayer: The AUB concerned es, for what a life cycle assessment could
itself intensively with environmental re- look like for a company, for a group (con-
IBU President, quirements for construction products solidated companies) and for an associ-
Prof Dr Horst Bossenmayer. and created a range of certificates for ation. And armed with this concept, I be-
“environmentally compatible construc- gan an essentially perpetual acquisition
tion products”. It was exemplary in Eu- tour for the IBU from 2002 to 2010.
rope. At that time the European Commis-
The Arbeitsgemeinschaft umweltverträg- sion also slowly began to concern itself In addition you also performed on a po-
liches Bauprodukt (AUB) was founded in with such aspects. litical level…
1980. How did you experience that time?
Peters: In 1982, the then association Peters: Correct. The decisive break-
Prof Bossenmayer: It was a time in which assumed specific traits, a managing di- through for the IBU was that we were able
we still had to justify ourselves in taking rector was appointed and the first pub- to win over Professor Bossenmayer as the
environmental issues seriously. Take the lications were issued. Unlike today, they new President. As the President of the
example of thermal insulation: If some- were initially only the firms’ own descrip- German Institute for Construction Tech-
one used thermal insulation at that time tions of the ecological assessment of nology (“Deutsches Institut für Bautech-
it was because it was their hobby or be- their products. Experts provided advice nik” - DIBt) he had made decisive efforts
cause they wanted to live in a particularly and information, but it was not yet pos- for the Europeanisation of standards and
environmentally friendly way. Very few sible to quantify characteristics and have design codes and therefore had exten-
considered it to be necessary. them validated externally. This was only sive contacts and a positive familiarity
made possible by the life cycle assess- with politicians, authorities as well as in-
Peters: The AUB was originally a coa- ments at the change of the millenium. dustry and associations. As a result, the
lition of different manufacturers, who abstract handling of the topic of life cycle
defended themselves against the emerg- And why did the original organization assessment and sustainability finally be-
ing “water diviners” of that time. At the develop further into the Institut Bauen came a specific political concern.
beginning of the 1980s there was not und Umwelt?
yet any orientation towards the topic Prof Bossenmayer: From 2000 I chaired
of sustainability. Instead, viewed from Peters: The AUB never managed to make the technical commitee TC 250 of the
today’s perspective, there was a range the topic truly market-relevant for com- European Committee for Standardisation
of naive books in which many products panies and therefore was increasingly (CEN) and was therefore able to experi-
were sweepingly called dangerous or tox- diminished. At the end it actually only ence up close which ideas the construc-
ic. There was not yet any differentiation had ten firms left. However, the AUB was tion industry on the one hand and the ‣
10 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020 ibu-epd.com 11
Mr Peters ...
“We have now covered ... on the tasks of the IBU
all areas with “Our objective is to validate
all construction works-related
environmental product products permanently. This is also
declarations that have reflected in the concept of the life
cycle assessment. It is ultimately
everyday relevance Prof Bossenmayer: We have certainly now private institutions, we will have to carry scientific findings and political will into a case of making the end result
for the construction covered all areas with everyday relevance
for the construction industry. The number
out a large number of sustainability tasks
if we actually want to achieve all this by
industrial thinking and industrial pro-
cesses, i.e. makes them applicable. I per-
assessable, not the intermediate
products.”
industry.“ mentioned only includes the EPDs in the 2050. sonally believe that in the next 30 years
narrower sense. However, products such it will definitely still be necessary to use ... on social responsibility
Prof Dr Horst Bossenmayer, as light fittings or garage doors, which Peters: It is indeed a destination that institutions such as the IBU as a useful “Companies that think that they
former President are outside the actual structural require- we can also very easily imagine. We are link for providing advice and information can simply continue with their
of the IBU ments in the narrower sense, are also a know-how holder in Germany, and for such processes. current production pattern in fu-
used in a building. If you add these, then through the ECO Platform, ultimately in ture, without supplying solutions
you would certainly arrive at a number Europe also, and we are definitely in- Prof Bossenmayer, what is your vision for the tasks of the next genera-
that is at least twice as large. terested in approaching the topic of the 2050 for the IBU? tion, will fail. I therefore consider
life cycle assessment or ultimately the it to be right for the industry to be
Peters: That’s true. All in all there are resource balance in a neutral, compre- Prof Bossenmayer: In the long-term committed to future issues and to
many, many more. Let’s take the relative- hensive way. I clearly see the IBU as a notified body, try to remain active in a relevant
ly simple example of a building brick: At i.e. a body that is authorised to under- leading role.”
building administration on the other Prof Bossenmayer: Yes, you are com- heart its EPD shows a dependency on the I would finally like to take a look at the fu- take tasks for the assessment and verifi-
wanted to introduce in legislation. The TC pletely right. The cooperation with the mass, which is largely linear accross all ture with you. What will the IBU look like cation of the constancy of performance of ... on the need for more circular
250 dealt with the creation of uniform Eu- UBA was essential, and we also knew product variations. This means you can in 2050? construction products within the frame- economy
ropean design codes for structures (the how to get on well on a technical level. now say that there is an EPD for an av- work of the European legal provisions. To “The responsibility we have ex-
so-called Eurocodes) and in this context, erage brick. You can also say that a life Peters: There are two clear scenarios. In do so, it is necessary to come into play, tends beyond the topic of climate
also covered the harmonisation of corre- Peters: Definitely! Energy and resource cycle assessment can be easily derived the first there is no longer any need for and that means maintaining contacts protection. In the long run we
sponding standards for the construction consumption became increasingly im- from bricks for around 150 products. the IBU. The IBU has dug the channel with the European parliament and the cannot afford to tip recoverable
products used in construction works. portant, and thus the construction sector I would therefore rather answer your in which the “water of the sustainable commission. materials into depressions or to
shifted into focus, because it was clear to question by saying that at the moment up products” runs its course. In the sec- heap up mountains with them.
The Eurocodes specified the basic sta- everyone that construction does not take to 20,000 products can certainly drawn ond scenario the IBU continues to be an Thank you both for the interesting inter- We have to think in economic
bility and fire protection requirements place in a void, but also has effects on on reliable life cycle assessments. And important partner, which still transfers view! ● cycles. Copper, iron, gold, as well
for structures (according to Annex I of the environment. In order to systemise in addition, there is probably the same as standard resources such as
the present day regulation of the Euro- the discussion, the industry decided number again, of which scientists would gravel and sand are becoming
pean Parlament and of the Council), but that standards were the right way and say that the deviations are too large with- increasingly scarce and yet we
not the other basic requirements, for therefore supported the life cycle as- in the scope of the normative life cycle still continue to spread them arbi-
example, the present day basic require- sessment approach. The UBA provided assessment. trarily on the Earth. Here we must
ment No. 7 “sustainable use of natural research funds to develop the life cycle establish independence through
resources.” assessment concept. And at that time,
the comparatively small IBU actually
Nonetheless, as a layman, I would like to
dig deeper: Are there products for which
“We recognised at a urban mining and recovery.”
Peters: However, we should not under- managed to have research applications it is difficult to produce an EPD, or is actu- very early stage that the ... on the further development of
the IBU
estimate the very good work of the
Federal Government’s commission of
approved by the UBA. Decisive thanks for
this must also go to Dr Eva Schmincke,
ally only a question of willingness?
topic of environmental “The further development of the
inquiry, through which topics such as Professor Thomas Lützkendorf of the KIT Peters: It is only a question of willing- product declaration or IBU must extend the pure life
energy and resource savings as well
as sustainably were actually speci-
in Karlsruhe and the present day Man-
aging Director of the DGNB, Johannes
ness. There are, however, limits at which
it becomes clear that this would entail
life cycle assessments cycle assessment, which is to
a large extent focussed on the
fied and made socially relevant for the Kreißig, at the time working for PE Inter- too high costs. And there are also limits would be very important topics of energy and climate
first time. In the nineteen-nineties all
this contributed to work starting on
national. due to companies and industries which
find life cycle assessments difficult.
in the future.“ control, i.e. topics concerning
the global warming potential. In
standardisations in this field of topics Life cycle assessments were and are the future we will have to concentrate
and by the end of the millenium, with basis for environmental product declara- The political requirements for sustaina- far more on the neutral design of
the help of the German Environment tions, so-called EPDs. Of these, there are bility in building are increasing. Could our environment, i.e. the topic of
Agency (Umweltbundesamt), this was currently around 1,300 stand-alone dec- you imagine the EU asking the IBU to be- Hans Peters, the circular economy. This means
actually specified. larations plus around 500 translations come more integrated institutionally? Chairman of the IBU that, in addition to life cycle
into different languages. Yet there are assessment, focus will also shift
Was the cooperation with the Umwelt- far more different construction products. Prof Bossenmayer: I have long since more towards resource balancing
bundesamt (UBA) and the development How large is the current coverage with been of the opinion that it must be so, as and resource management.”
of the life cycle assessment like a game EPDs, and are there areas that cannot be otherwise we will not manage. For exam-
changer? or are difficult to develop? ple, take the EU Green Deal: As chartered
12 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020 ibu-epd.com 13
Own EPDs:
The effort is worth while!
The EPD creation process With the publication of EPDs
by IBU, not only does the
from construction materials were shown
to be lower by between three and seven
This means that companies can be cer-
tain that their environmental product
percent. Because EPD data are checked declarations will be useable in diverse
quality of life cycle independently, they are significantly contexts. The key words are digitalisa-
assesments increase, but more precise than the generic data. This tion and standardisation. Because in the
also further use of the data is what accounts for the quantifiable meantime the IBU provides all EPD data
Steps en route to EPD difference here. in the IBU.data database, machine-read-
publication Verification body Client becomes significantly easier. able in the open XML standard. After reg-
Companies, of course, also benefit from istering, end users can view all data re-
other EPD advantages: This is because cords there free of charge, they can even
Background report, they generate valuable information download them and, for example, import
Creation PCR Part A
EPD-document LCA data, product-specific about the ecological properties of their them into their own design tools.
PCR Part B
information product. Potential for optimisation can
then be derived from this. EPDs are also IBU is committed to more
useful in communication with business standardisation
Assignment of an partners and can potentially provide the
Issue of
F
independent verifier verification order decisive competitive advantage in calls Once they have been published in IBU.
Verifier or companies, the time and cost
involved in creating their own en-
for tender. data, the EPD data also find their way
into other data sources. Interfaces exist,
Review of the EPD and Corrections and vironmental product declarations The certification process facilitates among other things, with ÖKOBAUDAT
documentation of the consultation (EPDs for short) in cooperation with orientation and with the “eLCA” tool for building
results of the review in programme operators such as Institut LCA that was developed by the Federal
verification report
Verification Bauen und Umwelt (IBU) are certainly However, small and medium-sized com- Institute for Research on Building, Ur-
worthwhile. For example, in this way the panies especially are often sceptical: ban Affairs and Spatial Development
Checking the Issue of the assessment in the certification system of After all, they not only have to fulfil the (“Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und
verification documents verification statement the Deutschen Gesellschaft für Nachhal- requirements of the European “EPD Raumforschung” - BBSR) for building LCA.
tiges Bauen (DGNB) is improved by up to standard” EN 15804. They should also
15 percent for certain environmental im- bear in mind various national and inter- The IBU also cooperates with the BBSR
Decision and issue of positive
pacts. This was shown by a study of the national provisions, especially for inter- within the international “InData” net-
verification statement
Fraunhofer Institut in 2019. Building cer- national projects. work, which aims to simplify the ex-
tifications to the DGNB or US American change of environmental data. EPDs
LEED standard are frequently demanded, EPD programme operators such as the should be provided in an open format
Editorial and final plausibility
Final Review check of the EPD
Corrections especially for new public and commercial IBU ensure orientation here in the jungle and web-based.
buildings. of declaration and certification systems.
A clear time schedule serves as a guide The IBU product information system
The Fraunhofer researchers therefore rail. Companies that aim to create an SuPIM is also moving in a similar di-
compared life cycle assessments on environmental product declaration for a rection. It can be used to collect prod-
Publication
the basis of EPDs with so-called generic specific product or product group opt for uct-related sustainability data in a cen-
Publication (as PDF incl. the possibility of
machine-readable formats such data, which are provided on the basis a product category rule (PCR) and, with tral location in the EPD online tool and
as ökobaudat, IBU.data) of generally accessible sources, for ex- the help of life cycle assessment experts, transferred into datasheets, which each
ample, in the ÖKOBAUDAT database of create a life cycle analysis of the respec- meet the requirements of building cer-
the German Environment Agency. The tive construction material or the compo- tification systems such as DGNB, LEED,
result: Especially in particularly ener- nent. Together with additional informa- BNB and BREEAM. Auditors for these
gy-efficient buildings, where the build- tion, the data are then transferred into programmes as well as planners and de-
ing fabric accounts for a larger share of suitable forms in the IBU online tool and signers, architects and consultants and
the environmental impacts of the build- are checked by an independent verifier. owners or developers can search in and
ing than the energy consumption during After any questions have been clarified view all relevant product data and verifi-
the use phase, environmental impacts the IBU publishes the EPD. cation documents. ●
14 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020 ibu-epd.com 15
The Association of Environmentally Friendly Carpets
(“Gemeinschaft umweltfreundlicher Teppichboden” - GUT)
calculates the EPDs for its member companies that operate
throughout Europe. This has many advantages, as the
Managing Director of GUT and member of the IBU Board,
Dr Edmund Vankann, knows well. He explains what they are
and how the modular system works in the interview.
Photo: Dr Edmund Vankann
Dr Vankann, let’s start from the very be- You have to explain that to us in greater
ginning. GUT was founded in 1990, what detail!
was the intention at that time?
Before there was an idea of an EU stand-
The focus was initially on improving the ard, all three flooring sectors had been
quality of indoor air. At that time there working together on an IBU PCR. And
were intense discussions on pollutants with the very clear objective of setting up
in indoor environments. GUT then be- clear harmonised rules for different floor-
gan to check the products of the carpet ings from the outset. This IBU PCR was
manufacturers for emissions, pollutants then used as the basis and, in conjunc-
and odours. Enhanced environmen- tion with the EN 15804, was incorporated
tal awareness was, however, already into the corresponding CEN PCR standard
anchored in the GUT’s statutes at that EN 16810 “Resilient, textile and laminate
GUT: time. And so we started our initial de- floor coverings. Environmental product
EPDs for the
liberations on life cycle assessments in declarations. Product category rules”.
Dr Edmund Vankann, 1997. I still remember well, how many
Managing Director of GUT and people at the time asked us: Why do we Why did you choose the IBU as your pro-
member of the IBU Board have to concern ourselves with this? We gramme partner?
did it nonetheless and then reaped the
benefits later: Since around 2007, we From the beginning we tried to harmo-
carpet industry
have been one of the first in the industry nise everything as far as possible. We
to calculate complete life cycle assess- decided in favour of the IBU system at
ments, not only for specific individual an early stage, which at the time was
products, but also for all kinds of differ- already very closely based on the still
ent combinations of raw materials and draft EN 15804, to avoid the EPDs in our
production methods. segment being calculated according to
different systems. We wanted to work
And were the pioneer for the carpet in- with a reliable programme operator who
Photo: Balsan Moquette / GUT
dustry? is active Europe-wide, above all in order
to create fair conditions for the whole in-
Correct. We were even one of the first dustry.
to create EPDs for floorings. Directly af-
ter that, together with colleagues in the In the meantime GUT has already created
flooring industry, i.e. resilient, laminate more than 300 EPDs with the IBU. What
and textile floorings, we worked on a PCR kind of EPDs?
document (Product Category Rules), for
the harmonised calculation of EPDs. This Most of the EPDs that we calculate are
PCR was already created in cooperation manufacturer-specific EPDs. We have
with the IBU. been doing this for around twelve ‣
16 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020 ibu-epd.com 17
“
Photos top/middle: Interface Europe Manufacturing BV / GUT
The seal and label at a glance
We have a
GUT seal: The GUT seal is only
issued to products that meet the
small team
GUT criteria for pollutant levels,
emissions of volatile organic com- years. We also created generic EPDs from fied EPD is available at the press of a but- because if I attribute a specific life to
pounds and indoor air quality. the outset, which we need, for example, ton. It all has to be properly documented. the product, then it must also be used
The seal confirms that the
respective textile flooring has
for our product information system (PRO-
DIS). In this way we can nonetheless also
The verifiers want a proper background
report, the calculations must be correct
here that in the corresponding use environment.
A flooring that is only suitable for use in
been tested by one of the recog-
nised test institutes.
provide EPDs on a generic basis for the
manufacturers who, for example, work
and the manufacturers’ supporting docu-
ments must be available. It is still a con-
creates these private areas, for example, should not be
laid in a highly trafficked hotel corridor.
PRODIS: The product informa-
in the private sector, where product-spe-
cific EPDs are not yet in demand. These
siderable amount of work, but it is organ-
ised differently. We have a small team specific EPDs It would not survive there for long. The
consequence would then be premature
for the
tion system for textile floorings are then average EPDs, which do not de- here that creates these specific EPDs for replacement. It is therefore important to
contains information on environ- scribe a specific product but an entire the manufacturers and organises the en- choose the right product, especially un-
mental impacts, on consumer product group. We cover more than 80 tire processing at the IBU. This currently der sustainability aspects.
health and on safety aspects. It
also provides information about
percent of all products in this way. also applies to the transfer of IBU EPDs
into the French FDES system.
manufacturers You recently also presented a new seal.
the product’s areas of use. Where does the data for these average
EPDs come from? Can you explain that in greater detail?
and organises What was that about?
Product passport: The product
passport is a further development As we permanently have the up-to-date In France there is a legal regulation that the entire We developed the so-called product
passport. It contains a great deal of fur-
processing at
of PRODIS and contains addi- data of our manufacturers, we can also specifies EPDs according to the manda- ther information on the respective textile
tional information on a textile derive the data for the generic EPDs rel- tory French system (FDES). As a result, flooring, in addition to the GUT seal in-
the IBU.
flooring, for example, the precise atively easily, without having to carry out an increasing number of manufacturer’s formation and our product information
material composition, and links complex data collection. We therefore require these FDES documents. As the system. For example, the precise mate-
directly to the EPDs and other always have access to up-to-date data. IBU has an agreement with the French rial compositions, as well as the content
product-specific documents. We have developed individual modules programme operated, we can also make of recycled materials in the product. The
for the different process steps and mate- an FDES document based on the data- Dr Edmund Vankann product passport is the next step, as it
Further information is available at rials, that can be combined in any way, base of our IBU EPDs. For our members, were, in the direction of the circular econ-
www.pro-dis.info no matter which combination of material this is the shortest way to meet the re- omy system. It is also linked from the out-
or processes is required. Furthermore, in quirements in France. The same also set to the corresponding EPDs.
this way we can also perform simplified applies, of course, to all other partner
calculations, to show a manufacturer programmes, for example, with UL for the How important do you believe the circular
what effects the use of new materials US market. economy will be for your industry?
Gemeinschaft umwelt- could have on certain impact categories.
freundlicher Teppichboden EPDs are used mainly in the sustainabili- Achieving the right entry into a circular
(GUT) What does that mean for the manufactur- ty assessment of buildings. What role do economy system will be decisive. To this
ers? textile floorings play in the overall build- end, we have also worked out a circular
Photo: Balsan Moquette / GUT
Founded in 1990, initially as ing context? GUT system. This means that the EPD is economy strategy and life cycle assess-
a German registered society, The modular structure is extremely help- linked to the data from our pollutant and ment considerations play an important
Gemeinschaft umweltfreundlicher ful for the calculation of manufacturer- The overall effect of a flooring in a build- emission tests, and vice versa. Our cur- role in it, of course. We have to ask our-
Teppichboden (GUT) now specific EPDs: The manufacturer does ing is actually not so large. But as floor- rent product passport also includes the selves which materials are used, which
represents the interests of the not have to search for a life cycle as- ings are a directly visually perceptible performance characteristics of the floor- material combinations are particularly
majority of European carpet sessor each time, who then starts again construction product unlike, for example, ings. recycling-friendly, and what are the re-
manufacturers. The association from the very beginning. Thanks to our insulation materials that are not seen sulting effects on the complete life cy-
members are responsible for long-standing work we also have a deep directly, the interest in them is also rel- Do you have an example of this? cle assessment? EPDs are currently still
almost 90 percent of European insight into the relationships between atively large. Especially with the building relatively linear, here we must use suit-
production of textile floorings; the individual production processes. certifiers and, for example, the DGNB we This includes, among other things, the able approaches to try to close the circle.
not only as construction products With our system an EPD is created signif- not only have the demand for EPD data, performance characteristics, which in- However, this will require simple and
but also for other sectors, for icantly faster. but also the demand for the indoor air dicate in which rooms or rather use en- transparent communication methods.
example, car carpets and outdoor quality properties. I.e. the freedom from vironments a flooring can be used: Is it The EPD must not be allowed to become
applications (including artificial What does faster mean? emissions of the products. All products suitable to be laid on stairs? Can I lay it a data graveyard.
turf ). for which we calculate EPDs through the in an office? Or can I only use the floor-
Even though it is a simplified procedure, IBU are therefore always also emission ing for a private room with light foot Thank you for taking part in the inter-
this of course does not mean that a veri- and pollutant tested according to the traffic? These are very decisive factors, view! ●
18 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020 ibu-epd.com 19Admonter:
Life cycle
“As high as the expectations may have been, they were none-
theless surpassed by the first impression of the concert hall,
whose architectural beauty and stylish grandeur are of a quality
seldom seen”, wrote the press on the opening of the Großen
Musikvereinssaal concert hall at the beginning of January 1870
assessment
in Vienna. The concert hall is still considered to be one of the
best in the world due to its outstanding acoustics. The bom-
bastic sound of the instruments remains in the memory of each
concertgoer.
“When I explain in seminars how rooms behave acoustically,
opens up new
I always give the example of the large hall of Vienna’s Musikv-
erein”, explained Martin A. Dolkowski. “An essential criterion
of the acoustics is the reverberation time, which can be deter-
mined exactly. The optimum reverberation time always depends
on the respective type of room use and the room volume.” In a
business idea
current case for a customer in Slovenia the room is a vault, which
is to be used for small concerts and receptions. “We can use the
Photos: Admonter
measurement data to calculate how many acoustic absorbers
we require: They must absorb a defined proportion of the sound
impinging on a wall to achieve the required acoustic effects.”
The passion for the material wood
Dolkowski is the Head of Product Development at Admonter
Holzindustrie AG in Admont. It produces natural wood floorings,
wall and ceiling panelling, stairs, acoustic panels and interior
doors – all made of high-quality real wood. He is the right per-
son to talk to when it comes to innovations or process optimisa-
tion at Admonter. The trained wood technologist not only knows
every detail of the wood material, but has also studied innova-
Woodworking has a centuries-long tradition in tion management. The development of the acoustic absorber
the Austrian region of Admont. This was partly is significantly thanks to Dolkowski: “My everyday work is very
written by the Admonter Holzindustrie AG, varied. In some phases of product development the designer
is in demand to make the products visually attractive, while in
which produces parquet, wall panelling, stairs, other phases it is facts and figures that are important, in which
acoustic panels and interior doors made of each place after the decimal is decisive.”
high-quality real wood. An environmental
product declaration (EPD) of the IBU helped it Whether he now tries to work out sketches of new ideas with
a block of paper and a pencil, analyses measurement data at
to develop a groundbreaking product the computer or tests the behaviour of the Admonter products
innovation, which has been patented. during simulated seasons in a so-called climatic chamber: His
passion for the material wood is present in all his tasks. Created
by nature, for him wood cannot have a defect: “A several centi-
metres large knot in the middle of a floor board – a supposed
wood defect? Question, who has seen living trees in the woods
without any branches? Branches are vital for trees. I therefore
always speak of characteristic wood features and not of de-
fects.” ‣
20 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020 ibu-epd.com 21Photos: Admonter
1. – 3.
Martin A.
Dolkowski during
At Admonter they try to keep the the acoustic
transport routes of the wood as test
short as possible. This is one of
the reasons why it has always
done without using tropical tim-
Admonter: Sustainability has tradition ber. It is also aware of the danger or products. At Admonter the creation
of not being able to guarantee the of the EPD for the multilayer solid wood 1. 2. 3.
No wonder, therefore, that Dolkowski has sustainable production of the raw products with the acoustic absorber even
already worked for more than a decade material. Admonter uses a special led to a new business idea.
for Admonter Holzindustrie AG, which thermal treatment, however, so
was founded in 1972 and now has 300 that its customers do not have to The background: In a life cycle assess-
employees. The company is thus a large forego the look and mechanical ment, the data within the impact cat-
employer in the region. As an enterprise properties of tropical timber. In egories are always given per kilogram
of the local Benedictine monastery, this process, individual constit- product: “But we do not sell our flooring
long-term thinking of ecology and econ- uents of domestic timber are by the kilogram but in square metres”,
omy has tradition here. Also, knowledge specifically modified without the laughed Dolkowski. “As we converted our
about woodworking in the densely wood- use of chemicals, solely by the data to square metres we found that we
ed area around Admont extends back application of heat. had already exhausted almost all poten-
over centuries. “We only produce here, tial optimisation options in the manufac-
locally. In that way we ensure the high turing process.” As a result, at Admonter
quality of our products and the economic we chose a radical approach and reduced
wellbeing of the region. We also only pro- the weight per square metre of the prod-
cess PEFC-certified wood from sustaina- The entire life cycle is analysed; from uct by more than half. The room acous-
ble forest management.” the production of the raw material to tic efficiency was an initial side effect:
the processing through to information “As long as the function and the quality
The topic of sustainability has always about dismantling, recyclability and the remain the same, the customer doesn’t
played a central role in the company. It need for landfill: “An engineering con- care whether they have ten kilograms per
has its own siding, so as many raw mate- sultancy from Vienna assisted us with square metre or only four.”
rials as possible are transported by rail, the creation of our EPD for Admonter
the energy for the production comes, multilayer solid wood products. They The basis for the weight reduction per
among other things from biomass from helped us to determine the relevant im- unit area was the development of a new
wood by-products. In order to enxure pact categories and then performed the substrate construction, in which an ex-
recyclability and cascade use of the calculations”, reported Dolkowski. EPDs tremely lightweight sinusoidal honey-
products, paint coatings are avoided to provide the basic information for evalu- comb layer made of cellulose fibres is
the extent possible. “From the outset our ating the ecological quality of buildings. used alongside the thin solid wood outer
motto was to produce sustainable prod- This in turn is essential for the integrat- layer. At the same time, sufficiently good
ucts with a small environmental foot- ed consideration of construction works mechanical properties continued to be
print. The problem: For a long time there and for their sustainability assessment achieved. These lay-ups are not neces-
was no normative standard that could by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nach- sarily suitable for floorings, but in wall
cast that in figures”, said Dolkowski. haltiges Bauen (DGNB) or the Leader- panellings and the acoustic absorbers
ship in Energy and Environmental Design in development at the same time, thanks
First the life cycle assessment, then (LEED). The principles and methods are to the special honeycomb geometry, the
EPD described in ISO 14025. The IBU also has sinusoidal honeycomb displayed an un-
the EPDs checked according to the Euro- expected property: “The actual surprise
This changed as the term life cycle as- pean standard EN 15804 by independent came to light during simulations and ini-
sessment emerged in the 1990s, which third parties: “We decided to work with tial acoustic measurements, because the
later manifested itself in the ISO stand- the IBU, because in our opinion it is the lay-up that had been developed proved
ard 14040/44. This defines what a life leading provider of EPDs in Europe.” to have acoustic absorption values of
cycle assessment is and how it is per- 100 percent over a wide frequency range
formed; roughly a hotspot analysis of a EPD brings a new business case – i.e. what is physically possible in these
product within its life. “We did the first areas! This was then also confirmed in
life cycle assessment in 2008, our EPD However, Admonter’s customers cannot the test laboratory of the TU of Graz.”
Photo: Erikamayerphotography / Admonter
was prepared in 2015.” This quantifies, only use the EPDs to increase their market
in the form of life cycle assessment, for opportunities in green building tenders The cornerstone for the new “Admont-
example, the contribution of a construc- or to strengthen their communication er Acoustics” product division was thus
tion product to the global greenhouse with other companies and customers. In laid. The acoustic absorber developed
effect, to ozone depletion, to acidifi- many cases the analysis within the life in this way has in the meantime been
cation of soil and water or to resource cycle assessment of the EPD contributes extended several times, the technology
scarcity. to the optimisation of existing processes behind it has been patented. ●
22 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020 ibu-epd.com 23dormakaba:
EPDs help
to optimise
Photo, top: Elbphilharmonie / Maxim Schulz, bottom left: Elbphilharmonie / Michael Zapf, bottom right: dormakaba
processes
and products
When it comes to products and solutions for
secure entrance to buildings and rooms,
dormakaba is a specialist in much demand. For
many years, Joachim Zerfass, Lea Kullmann and
Melanie Schaumann have formed the centre
of excellence there on the topic of product
declarations, sustainable building and
building certification systems. They know what
needs to be paid attention to when creating
EPDs to ISO 14025 and EN 15804 and what
their advantages are for companies.
T
he Elbphilharmonie has become a centre of attraction, not ily-run business Dorma with the Swiss corporation Kaba is rep-
only for classics fans. Visiting the concert hall completed resented with a large number of products in the new Hanseatic
in 2016 is now a must on each visit to Hamburg. On en- city landmark – from the automatic ED 250 swing door operators
tering the publicly accessible plaza or when stepping into one to the ITS 96, TS 93 and BTS 80 door closing systems through to
of the concert halls, among all the architectural splendour, fes- the OGRO stainless steel door furniture. dormakaba gained ac-
Argus sensor barriers by dormakaba ... ... with accessible entrance tively clad concert visitors as well as daytrippers may possibly ceptance among the project designers not only due to its known
not notice that the visitor management and the control of visitor product quality, but also because environmental product dec-
streams also satisfy the highest standards. larations (EPDs) were provided for all the named products. The
Elbphilharmonie designers thus received a transparent over-
dormakaba is responsible for ensuring that all guests get into view of the ecological impacts of these components.
the different public and non-public areas of the “Elphi” safe-
ly, conveniently, and without barriers or physical contact. The dormakaba is specialised in adapting its products to customers’
corporation formed in 2015 by the merger of the Ennepetal fam- needs. This becomes particularly clear in the case of the Ker- ‣
24 IBU | Anniversary Edition 2020 ibu-epd.com 25You can also read
