By
now, almost anyone in the construction business who gets near a government
contract has been made aware of the USGBC LEED point system. In addition to
LEED, there are several similar programs in, or nearing, the marketplace.
If a program such as LEED is in effect, a project constructed under the
auspices of a government entity at the local, state, or federal level will
require that a new or renovated building must meet a certain level of
sustainability as determined by a given point system. To be awarded a government construction
contract, a bid must demonstrate that a building has been designed and will be
constructed per the criteria set forth by the specified green building
standard. LEED, for example, identifies
three levels—Silver, Gold, and Platinum—of qualification. Other similar standards, such as the proposed
Green Globes standard, use similar classification methods.
All of the green accounting schemes factor in a variety of criteria in their
point systems, such as how much energy is expended acquiring, manufacturing,
and delivering the materials used in a construction project; how much recycled
material is incorporated into those materials; how much water will be consumed
or conserved by the building, and so on.
The idea of “Sustainability” was originally intended to focus design
professionals on using renewable resources, such as bamboo, turf roofing, and
solar heating. However, that idea has been broadened to include using materials
that are readily available and will last for the life of the building. This
concept has in turn led to the science of Life Cycle Assessment which, though
still in its infancy, is intended to eventually enable design professionals to
determine which materials will last the longest in a particular setting with
the least amount of maintenance, thus enhancing the sustainability of a new
building.
So, now producers of building materials find themselves identifying and
enumerating the characteristics of their wares in terms of their
sustainability. Fortunately for the gypsum industry, we have plenty of
ammunition for this contest, and knowing these attributes will no doubt serve
the general contractor and the drywall contractor well in the days ahead.
BUILDING GREEN WITH
GYPSUM PRODUCTS
Using gypsum products, primarily gypsum board but also joint treatment and
gypsum plaster, can earn green points for a project in several
categories:
- Recycled content
- Locally available
material/transportation
- Life cycle assessment and
building life service
- Construction waste diversion
and on-site debris disposal
- Manufacturing
facilities
Because the above mentioned gypsum products are produced all across North
America under a wide variety of conditions, the applicability of a particular
product produced in a particular location for green building credits will need
to be verified by the manufacturer before assuming that the selected products
are in fact worthy of credits. But in general terms, gypsum products can
possibly earn credits in the categories previously mentioned as
follows:
RECYCLED CONTENT
Building materials must contain either pre-consumer or post-consumer recycled
components, or both, to qualify for recycled content green building credits. In
the 1950s, gypsum product manufacturers began recycling newsprint and other
paper products to make the facing and backing paper on gypsum board and similar
products. Today nearly 100 percent of the facing and backing paper on those
products is recycled material.
The gypsum industry also uses the majority of the available synthetic gypsum
produced in the United States – a by-product of the flue gas desulphurization
process used to remove sulphur dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels
for power generation and other smokestack industries—in the manufacture of
gypsum products. Much of the synthetic gypsum, which is chemically identical to
natural gypsum, would otherwise wind up in the nation’s landfills were it not
used in the manufacture of gypsum products.
LOCALLY AVAILABLE MATERIAL/TRANSPORTATION
Green building standards offer credits for using locally available (indigenous)
building materials. Some standards also offer credits for transporting those
materials using a means other than trucking.
Historically, gypsum manufacturing facilities have been sited near the source
of the gypsum ore or near a port that facilitated over water shipment of ore.
The finished products were then sent via rail or truck to customers or
distribution points. With the increased use of synthetic gypsum, manufacturing
plants are now increasingly located closer to market areas, particularly in the
eastern United States, where they can transport their finished goods by rail,
which is perhaps the most energy efficient means for moving products over
medium to long distances.
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND BUILDING LIFE SERVICE
Life cycle assessment uses multiple criteria to evaluate how a building
material will perform for the life expectancy of the building. This process
enables specifiers to compare how various building materials will impact the
environment and how expensive use of the different materials for the same
application will likely be.
Gypsum products score very well in life cycle cost analyses because their
in-place construction costs are very low and their anticipated life-span is
quite long. Building systems finished
with gypsum-based products typically require minimal routine maintenance and
are easily repaired without extensive or costly procedures. If installed and
maintained in a proper environment, gypsum-based products will perform
acceptably for decades.
In most contemporary green standards, a plan that identifies the expected life
span of materials and systems installed in or incorporated into the structure
of a building will earn building life service credits. Under normal conditions,
gypsum panels and gypsum plaster products have an expected service life
exceeding 50 years. Also, gypsum’s inherent fire-resistant properties will
protect a building and its many systems from damage in the event of a fire or
heat-related incident.
CONSTRUCTION WASTE DIVERSION AND ON-SITE WASTE DISPOSAL
Most green building standards allow credits for using materials that can be
recycled using conventional techniques. Clean (as in unpainted or not generated
during demolition) gypsum construction waste, depending upon jurisdictional
requirements, can be recycled and used to manufacture new gypsum products.
Ground gypsum also can be used as a soil enhancement. Studies have shown that
ground gypsum, spread at an even rate over or mixed with the top layer of soil,
may be applied at a rate of up to 22 tons per acre on building lots. Machinery
specifically designed to pulverize the gypsum to an acceptable size for this
application are available to facilitate this process.
MANUFACTURING FACILITIES
Green building standards also allow points for energy conservation and
recycling by manufacturers. Newer gypsum plants have been designed for maximum
energy efficiency, and several existing plants have been upgraded to improve
their energy efficiency. For instance, many gypsum production facilities use
co-generated electrical power or heat in their manufacturing processes.
Some manufacturing plants recycle water used in the manufacturing process and
are nearly self-sustaining in water use. In addition, several manufacturing
plants are certified as meeting green standard requirements for implementing
environmental management systems. Again, facility compliance should be examined
on a plant-by-plant basis and verified by specific product manufacturers.
Gypsum plants win awards for their green operation. Several gypsum manufacturing
facilities in North America have received recognition for their environmentally
sound practices from groups as diverse as the Wildlife Habitat Council, and the
Mine Safety Health Administration.
So, when faced with a project that requires meeting the provisions of a green
building standard in the name of “sustainability,” rest assured that using
gypsum products will help contribute to earning the points necessary for
satisfying those provisions. W&C
