SCOPE OF CERTIFICATION
Certification centers on building materials, considered both as raw materials and as components. On-site assembly techniques and the different technologies that can be used are not taken into consideration.
THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS
The certificate for ecological building materials is issued after the whole life cycle of the product has been evaluated on the basis of three risk categories correlated with specific indicators.
The different evaluation phases include:
1 Document evaluation. This phase verifies that the products:
- correspond to their declared end use;
- contain no dangerous substances for humans and the environment;
- are obtained mainly from renewable raw and processed materials.
2 Definition of the product's ecological profile quantifying environmental impact associated with its whole life cycle, according to the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology.
3 Laboratory tests.
4 On-site inspections.
| Basic Themes |
Indicators |
| Damage to human health |
Harmfulness for man of the product and its components (if its properties are carcinogenic,mutagenic or toxic for reproduction) |
| Radioactivity of the product(Radioactivity Index I) |
| Damage to the quality of the ecosystem |
Harmfulness for the environment of the product and its components (ecotoxicity, biodegradability and potential for bioaccumulation) |
| Greenhouse effect: calculated on the basis of the substances given off which contribute to the potential global warming of planet Earth (CO2 eq.) |
| Acidification: the acidification indicator is linked to its emissions into the air of specific substances, such as nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides (mol H+/g max) |
| Eutrophication: this indicator evaluates the eutrophication effect, i.e. the increase in the concentration of nutrients in aquatic environments (02/g max) |
| Damage to mineral and fossil resources |
Consumption of renewable resources (kg an MJ) |
| Consumption of non-renewable resources (kg and MJ) |
| Impact of extraction |