EnviroBuild has made history, becoming the first company in the UK to publish the environmental impact of its composite products with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).
Traditionally EPDs use an internationally standardised method to determine the impact of a product over its lifetime. Completing the report will allow EnviroBuild to identify and mitigate their contribution to climate change and increase their sustainability. EnviroBuild freely chose to make their EPD public in order to increase their transparency and to hold themselves accountable to their sustainable commitments.
The team at EnviroBuild have looked at their environmental impact at every stage of the design and development process including manufacturing, shipping, disposal and treatment. This is particularly significant as many manufacturers only consider their manufacturing processes when creating an EPD, whereas EnviroBuild has analysed its business from end-to-end, including its transportation, use and disposal stages.
Buster Palmano, Technical Director at EnviroBuild, said: “The impact on the environment also covers more than just greenhouse gas emissions (global warming potential), we’ve also looked into things like ozone depletion, the environmental effect on bodies of water, the creation of any harmful substances and water consumption.”
The report revealed that the Net CO₂ works out at +1.53 kg per kg of composite, when looking at every stage of the product lifecycle, including the company’s move to 100% renewable energy in 2021. The data shows that the company is currently outputting more CO₂ than they are removing from the atmosphere. The disposal stage is the largest contributor to this output as the product releases carbon as it biodegrades.
In comparison, the data reveals that the raw material processing stage absorbs more CO₂ than it releases. This is most likely due to the fact the construction process of the composite products involves using waste wood which absorbs CO₂ during its growth. The majority of the other raw materials used are recycled plastic, which have very little impact.
The manufacturing stage of the EPD report has a small CO₂ output, which is largely due to the company moving to wind energy. By doing this, they were able to reduce the total carbon impact by over 30%!
The ultimate goal of Envirobuild is to not only offset their environmental impact but reduce it entirely. In order to address the findings of the EPD and increase their sustainability, Envirobuild are starting multiple initiatives.
Palmano said: “We are removing plastic packaging from smaller items such as screws and we are looking to improve the sustainability of our non-combustible flooring solutions, including porcelain paving and aluminium decking (ProGrip and Aquachannel).”
The company is also looking to move the majority of its additional ranges to wind power. When purchasing renewable energy, the company will buy it in the country of production where they are using the energy. This is to ensure that they aren’t, for example, polluting one country and then balancing that pollution by planting trees in the UK.
In order to address their biggest CO₂ output, Envirobuild will be encouraging builders’ merchants and customers to reuse old decking at its end of life rather than sending it to landfill.
EnviroBuild is continually measuring and analysing the environmental impact of all of its products through LCAs and publishing EPDs, and using the results to objectively find the most effective way to reduce their environmental impact as much as possible. For EnviroBuild, the move to wind energy for Hyperion was just the start.
EnviroBuild
Quality sustainable building materials without compromise
EnviroBuild is the UK’s leading builders’ merchant for sustainable building materials. They apply the latest technological innovations to provide highly engineered and lasting environmentally friendly solutions over traditional building materials. With over 60 years of experience in the construction industry, EnviroBuild are leaders in their field, and providing a quality experience for customers is at the core of their values. Their highly trained expert team are on-hand to help customers at every stage of their project, from take-off to completion.
Most recently, EnviroBuild launched new composite decking boards to join the Pioneer and Frontier lines in the highly successful Hyperion range. Hyperion Explorer has on one side a luxury, authentic textured wood grain effect and on the other a traditional grooved finish, giving homeowners the choice for their garden project. The game-changing Hyperion decking boards, in addition to the cladding and fencing ranges of the same name, are now produced using renewable wind energy as well. These latest changes to the production method mean that Hyperion composite decking boards will now produce a whopping 59.67% less carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) across its lifetime than maintained timber deck boards.
Within the high-rise construction industry, EnviroBuild is not standing still either. The new 150 Aqua Channel aluminium decking system is their newest revolutionising non-combustible system on the market complying with the newest fire legislations. The decking boards can be installed alongside built-in drainage for effortless upkeep. Its modern take on decking means a flush insert can provide a smooth and continuous look or be removed to create a more traditional look of gapped individual boards. This ensures 150 Aqua-Channel caters to all preferences and can be used to create versatile designs.
Given the innovative nature of these materials and others EnviroBuild supplies, it is no surprise that the products are distributed across thousands of homes in the UK and are increasingly becoming the first choice for contractors, architects, landscapers, and construction firms. In 2020 alone, EnviroBuild brought on six new commercial projects during lockdown including Taylor Wimpey’s new homes development at Innsworth and CALA homes construction in Cheltenham. EnviroBuild also featured in the Guardian and on ITV. Their garden furniture collection – Galleon – was also recommended by the Independent and in 2020 saw a massive 250% increase on 2019 sales.
The business turned over £13 million in its last financial year and in quarter two of 2020 EnviroBuild reported a 45% increase in revenue on 2019’s figures and that increased even further in quarter three with a 51% rise in revenue via the retail sales division.
Above all, EnviroBuild’s mission remains to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the construction industry by providing high quality products that are consistently the better environmental choice over current traditional products on the market. For every product EnviroBuild sells, a pragmatic approach is taken to manufacture a commercially viable product with significant environmental benefits; whether using high levels of recycled material, renewable energy in production or intelligent design to reduce input material in finished goods without compromising a long operational life.
These careful assessments naturally resulted in several awards highlighting the company’s sustainable efforts. In 2018, EnviroBuild had been awarded the Federation of Small Business London Ethical and Green Business of the Year awards, and was presented with the Golden Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice within the “Building & Construction, Innovation” category at the International Green Apple Environment Awards. Most recently, they won the West London Business Award in the “Green Circular Economy Business of the Year” category at the start of 2021.
EnviroBuild also dedicates 10% of profits to sustainable causes, which is unmatched in the industry. From the beginning they have been supporting Rainforest Trust in their mission to protect endangered rainforests and species. They recently celebrated their 5th year of donations to the organisation and with those contributions protected nearly 250,000 acres equating to over 62million trees across Africa, South America, Central America and Asia.
EnviroBuild are true industry leaders in progressing the sustainability and environmental impact within the construction industry.
Products include:
Outdoor & garden
- garden furniture
- dining sets
- sofa sets
- composite decking
- fire-rated decking
- decking substructure
- decking supports
- porcelain paving
- paving supports
- exterior finishes
- composite cladding
- composite fencing
- lawn edging
- non-rot plastic lumber
- waterproof boards
- plastic decking
- park benches & tables
- street furniture
Indoor
Awards won:
- 2018: Federation of Small Business London Awards – Ethical and Green Business of the Year
- 2018: International Green Apple Environment Awards – Golden Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice within the Building & Construction, Innovation category
- 2021: West London Business Awards – Green Circular Economy Business of the Year
For more information, visit www.envirobuild.com
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