Responsible products and the pathways to sustainability

Thanks to human induced climate change, planet Earth is currently 1.1°C hotter than it was in the pre-industrial age. To address this situation and limit warming to no more 1.5°C, the global community has no choice but to act. As stated in the Paris Agreement, it must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030, then achieve net zero global emissions by 2050.

This task is of particular relevance to the construction sector. Given that the built environment is “…responsible for 39% of global energy related carbon emissions”, the sector clearly represents a significant part of the problem. Consequently, if we are to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, it will also need to be a significant part of the solution.

Numerous stakeholders, from developers and property owners to builders and, of course, specifiers have roles to play in all of this. For their part, architects and designers need to not only design buildings that are efficient in an operational sense but seek out materials that are designed and manufactured to minimise their own environmental impacts. 

Focussing on plumbing, this whitepaper is intended to help them do exactly this. Beginning by  identifying the potential environmental effects of pipes, tapware, toilets, and so on, it goes on to explain the methods employed to measure these impacts, and to outline the best ways for specifiers to identify products that, having been assessed in this way, can be considered genuinely sustainable.

Download this whitepaper to learn about environmentally responsible products and the pathways to sustainability.