Building Materials And Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

1. Building Materials And Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Jens Thierfelder CEO, XELLA Bulgaria EOOD in collaboration with Yana Kancheva and Assoc. Prof. Roumiana Zaharieva, University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy

2. Building Sector – Huge Environmental Impact There is a decrease by 2/3 in all eco-systems since the beginning of the 1960s (15 500 species threatened) and an increase by 70 % of the demand of natural resources for manufacturing

3. Sustainability Is A Challenge • Sustainability has not only environmental aspect, but also social and economic. • The challenge in front of us – searching for a balance between: • producing high-quality building products satisfying technical and social requirements; • being environmentally friendly, and • achieving a economic benefit.

4. Ecological - Economic Viability As A Criterion of Strong Sustainability • Need (and investment) for researches in optimizing the processes of production and consumption concerning: • cost-effectiveness; • efficient use resources; • maintaining high quality. 4

5. Sustainability Requires Integrated And Complex Approach • Integrated sustainability approach should be applied through the whole life cycle of the material/product/building: • concept: "green" building; • design: DFR, energy efficiency, space flexibility; • construction/production: minimising noise, air pollution, waste disposal and energy consumption; • exploitation, maintenance and rehabilitation: energy efficiency, water use optimisation; • demolition: selective; • reuse and recycling: "cradle to cradle" concept.

6. Building Materials Contribute to Sustainability of Construction • Their production must be efficient in terms of using raw materials and energy, but also economically and socially justified. • (e.g. YTONG blocks – from 1 m3 row materials is produced up to 5 m3 final products!) • To be safe for humans and animals .

7. Building Materials Contribute to Sustainability of Construction • Should be durable for the designed service life; • Should be resistant to extreme impacts (fire, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes).

8. Building Materials Contribute To Sustainability Of Construction • Materials have to be multifunctional – for example, to combine structural and insulating (thermal, noise, etc.) functions. • (e.g. YTONG extrA+ - single layer wall combines load bearing function and incorporates perfect heat insulation) • Should contribute to Energy Efficiency Policy and Green Building Design Concept.

9. Building Materials Contribute to Sustainability of Construction • Should be easy to handle, install and uninstall; • Should allow repair (even to have self-repair potential).

10. Building Materials Contribute to Sustainability of Construction • To be reusable or/and recyclable; • (e.g. YTONG – wasteless technology of production) • To have minimal solid waste disposal and no hazardous emissions.

11. Sustainable Choice Modelling 11

12. Construction Legislation Towards Sustainability

13. Legislation towards Building Materials Sustainability • Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 • impact as of July, 1st, 2013 , will replace the Construction Products Directive 89/106 • emphasizes on sustainable use of natural resources (recyclability, durability and use of environmentally compatible raw and secondary materials in construction works) • requires Environmental Product Declarations • ISO 21930:2007  Sustainability in building construction.Environmental declaration of building products.   • pr EN 15804Sustainability of construction works ― Environmentalproduct declarations ― Product categoryrules 13

14. Complementary declarations for Materials Sustainability • Declaration of Performance • (DP) • Accent on use(s) of construction products and essential technical characteristics of those products; • Provides conformity of the construction product with such declared performance. • Based on a strict control on manufacturing processes and enables certifying quality construction products. • Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) • Accent on the environmental impacts, use of resources and generation of waste; • Provides methodology for ensuring that all environmental impacts are completely accounted; • Provides quantified environmental data of substantial parameters regarding Life-Cycle stages of construction product. 14

15. EPD

16. It’s Not Just The Manufacturer… • Sustainability is a social responsibility of all people involved in building processes: • Policy makers, • Investors, • Architects, • Engineers, • Products manufacturers, • Construction companies, • Academics, scientists • End consumers… 16

17. Our experience • 1994 – YTONG – the first building material with Ecological balance • 2010 – Xella Bulgaria won the price “The greenest companies in Bulgaria” • Cooperation with University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy on creating a methodology for assesment of sustainability • 2012 – Sustainability report of Xella Group 17

18. Thank you for your attention! Questions? Jens Thierfelder CEO, XELLA Bulgaria EOOD jens.thierfelder@xella.com +359 88 795 9677 Assoc. Prof. Roumiana Zaharieva Assist. Prof. Yana Kancheva University of Architecture, Civil Engineering UACEG and Geodesy (UACEG) roumiana.zaharieva@gmail.com ykancheva@gmail.com +359 887 40 11 13 +359 878 622367