@swedecor on Twitter
Sustainability of tiles
Swedecor has worked in conjunction with our leading suppliers to highlight the quality standards and sustainable accreditations for tiling products available to architects and interior designers in the UK market.
To Swedecor and our suppliers, the word 'innovation' does not merely mean more sophisticated tile designs with more advanced technical features but also responsible actions towards the environment. Therefore, together with our suppliers we pay constant and proactive attention to developing the eco-sustainability of products and production processes.
In order to considerably minimise the impact on the environment, all working processes have been thought through and carried out taking into consideration the amount of emissions released into the atmosphere, implementing the use of natural resources and recycling waste material.
Ecolabel
Guaranteeing eco-sustainable products is a key belief at Swedecor and we have partnerships with manufacturers which meet and surpass the environmental requirements of the BAT (Best Available Technology) and who certify many of our porcelain stoneware collections with the Ecolabel quality award.
Our suppliers are amongst the first tile manufacturers in the world to obtain the Ecolabel certification for porcelain stoneware collections. This certification, awarded by the European Union to products with low environmental impact, guarantees to end users and planners that the purchased products are eco-friendly and eco-sustainable.
The European logo of environmental quality (Ecolabel) certifies compliance with the European environmental criteria and is only given to products that, compared to those of competitors, have low environmental impact. The entire product lifecycle is evaluated to determine the impact on the environment, from the extraction of raw materials (including the selection of suppliers), through manufacturing, distribution (including packaging) and product use, until the final disposal. The parameters examined in greatest detail are: energy consumption, the level of pollution the product adds to water and air, environmental safety and the level of pollutants added to the soil.
LEED
Our key suppliers have an on-going commitment to eco-sustainable building and international environmental parameters, and have already focused their attention and resources towards meeting the new LEED standards right from the initial project-planning phase of products.
The LEED standard (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) today represents the most adopted rating system for buildings in the U.S. and is also now used in more than 40 countries around the world. The LEED credits, established by the U.S. Green Building Council, certify the eco-sustainable, social and economic requisites of buildings, which can 'function' in a sustainable and autonomous way in terms of energy and which have low environmental impact throughout their life-cycle. LEED is therefore a rating system (Green Building Rating System) established to encourage the development of "green" buildings. The system is based on the award of points for every single eco-sustainable requisite of a building. Totalling up all the awarded points, the building obtains a certain eco-sustainable level.
Our supplier is a member of the Green Building Council Italy, promoter of the LEED rating system in Italy. LEED points of our suppliers ceramic tiles are awarded to the entire building system and not to ceramic tiles themselves, but ceramic tiles can contribute to the obtaining of LEED points with reference to the following aspects:
- content of pre-consumer recycled material in a percentage higher than 20% or 40% (1 or 2 points)
- low release of volatile organic compounds (VOC) (1 point)
- reduction of the "Heat Island" effect (1 point)
- innovation in design (1 to 4 points)
