Sustainable building materials

With the concept of sustainability growing in importance across the Middle East region, how is the building materials industry responding? MENA Infrastructure asked two leading experts for their views.

“The only way sustainable construction initiatives will gain full momentum is if it becomes a trend in the public eye”
-Kevin Mayer, Birdair, Inc.

The Panel:
Stephen Barnett is President of the Nickel Institute. Before joining the Nickel Institute in 2006, Steve was was Vice President of Health, Safety and the Community in BHP Billiton’s Stainless Steel Materials Division.
As VP of Business Development, Marketing and Sales at Birdair, Inc., Kevin Mayer is responsible for providing leadership, directing strategic marketing initiatives and business development efforts and sales functions for the company.

INFRA. There has been a growing focus on sustainability in the construction sector over the last few years. What impact has this trend had on the industry?
Kevin Mayer. Designers, architects, contractors and building owners certainly consider building lifespan and the materials used for the building’s lifecycle more now than in the past. In recent years, the main considerations for building construction were focused strictly on the raw cost of materials and their use in the short-term, and their impact on the return on investment.
 
As architects, engineers, contractors, owners and developers become more aware of the impacts of building construction and performance on the environment, different metrics are being used for building construction – such as energy savings, emissions, building product lifecycles, manufactured goods-environmental impacts and recycle/reuse programmes. The investment cycles for investment return (which impacts design and construction) frequently extend beyond the short-term and factor in much longer-term returns and environmental impacts.

Stephen Barnett. It has encouraged taking a whole lifecycle view of buildings and infrastructure: looking at ways of increasing their durability whilst reducing their overall environmental impacts. This has led to innovative approaches to design and choice of materials. For example, a nickel-containing a stainless steel roof or building exterior can reduce the solar heating effect and hence the demand on the air-conditioning system. At the same time, its corrosion resistance ensures low maintenance, no run-off of pollutants and long life. Finally, it is a fully recyclable material. Similar considerations apply to adjustable solar shades.
 
Water, especially potable water, is a precious resource – particularly in the Middle East. There is growing interest in water re-use within a building. Durable, corrosion-resistant nickel-containing stainless steels are a natural choice for such systems. Durability is also the key reason for choosing stainless steel for critical structural items which are exposed to aggressive marine environments such as concrete reinforcing bar in bridges.
 
INFRA. How are you integrating sustainability and greener thinking into the manufacture of your building materials?
SB. The most commonly used nickel-containing construction material is stainless steel. The nickel and stainless steel producing industries are both actively reducing their CO2 emissions and other environmental impacts. This starts with mining and refining the raw materials, where there are already strict environmental controls. Process efficiency improvements are important but recycling stainless steel at end-of-life brings the greatest benefit. The average 60 percent recycled content in a stainless steel melt today reduces the CO2 emissions per tonne of steel by 32 percent compared with using virgin materials.
 
Recycling has always been practised but stainless steel items are very durable and so generally only become available for recycling after many years in use. Just look at the 80-year-old Chrysler Building in New York. Since it has also been one of the fastest growing materials, there just cannot be enough scrap available to satisfy the total demand for new stainless steel today. In spite of its value, only about 80 percent of the available end-of-life stainless steel scrap is actually collected and used in new stainless steel, with the remainder being lost from the recycling loop. The industry is making strong efforts to increase that percentage, which will bring both environmental and economic benefits.
 
KM. Elements in a Birdair system contribute to sustainable design by virtue of their reuse and recyclability. Some examples include recyclable steel and Kenafine, a new membrane made entirely from the Kenaf plant which is converted into paper at the end of its lifecycle. Birdair has established sustainable practices for on-site construction works. We’re in the process of receiving ISO 14001 certification for our manufacturing facilities, on-site construction work(s) and administrative offices.  ISO 14001 deals with environmental policies and procedures in these areas. Products offered via Birdair include internationally recognized sustainable certifications like Cool Roof, Energy Star and Cradle to Cradle.
 
INFRA. In your opinion, is enough being done across the Middle East to promote the use of sustainable construction practices and materials? What can be done to increase awareness?
KM. We have seen sporadic design efforts in the middle-east region. In our opinion, more can be done. Our impressions are that these initiatives are as driven as much by the budgets specific projects carried and an interest in leveraging a differentiated position from other development efforts than from a sincere desire to construct sustainable structures. It is my experience that awareness comes directly from the public interests. The only way sustainable construction initiatives will gain full momentum is if it becomes a trend in the public eye, from the owner/developers, the clients, and the public sectors, owning, constructing and using the buildings. If these groups buy-in to the practices that the programs require from construction, the building use will allow for the sustainable practices to take hold.

SB. There is a growing awareness among both architects and clients in the Middle East of the need to embrace sustainable construction practices. The green building codes or guidelines already established in the UAE, Japan, India, China, Europe, USA and other countries encourage this. This can only increase as more clients demand buildings with long design lives and low maintenance. The key thing is to spread the message that there are tangible benefits for all parties from taking a whole life view and sustainable approach to construction.
 
INFRA. In previous downturns, going ‘green’ was seen as a luxury that companies could not afford. Is there a danger that sustainable practices might get pushed to the bottom of the agenda given the current climate?
KM. That is a viable danger, although world opinions about sustainability are very strong and well grounded. The establishment of government policies for sustainable initiatives can be a strong consideration that could help to offset any decline related to downturns. In other countries subsidy and tax relief programs have been established for projects that meet or exceed predetermined criteria for certification as a green building. The subsidy programs established can be structured to offset upfront costs. Without some type of government, building code and or certified rating system that establishes clearly defined requirements for sustainable practices the region will be hard-pressed to consistently enforce and support the trend for sustainable initiative. Based upon the volatility in the economics markets and investors interests solely in short-term returns, there will be constant efforts on behalf of investors to rank the short-term return on investments ahead of any long-term benefits.

SB. Yes, there is a danger – particularly when short-term cost reduction measures have to be taken to ensure a company’s survival. However, sustainable practices may provide short-term economic benefits. For example, significant reductions in cooling costs, energy use, and water consumption can have a relatively rapid payback. Similarly, reusing existing materials can be an immediate gain. Prestigious buildings and structures are expected to last for a long time with minimum maintenance. That is one of the features delivered by sustainable practices.
 
INFRA. How are new sustainable building codes shaping future construction in the Middle East region?
SB. These codes encourage thinking about the best way to build, taking into account the expectations of the client, the expected life of the building and the environmental impact over the whole life cycle. However, the codes are not perfect yet. For example, the LEED code in the USA does not include sufficient credit for the longevity of construction materials and so it misses an important benefit of using nickel-containing stainless steel. This means that sticking strictly to the codes may not be giving the best building from a sustainability point of view.

KM. Much of the building codes we see are British, US and European standards. Many of these standards do not include code requirements for sustainability. It is our experience that sustainability sits most with the building specifications developed via the design teams and the owner/developer and or government programs. The current structures established for sustainable initiatives exist mainly via the government initiatives to establish tax relief and or subsidy programs for investors interested in building green and not in new building codes. Building codes although objective in structure tend to be more frequently subjective when it comes to enforcement. Different codes are enforced at different times and more frequently than not, local or municipal codes override national and international codes. For building codes to be enforceable within a sustainable platform the policies for the use of these codes and the applicability of them needs to be addressed via an international platform.

What are the economic benefits of green buildings?
A green building may cost more upfront, but saves through lower operating costs over the life of the building. The green building approach applies a project lifecycle cost analysis for determining the appropriate upfront expenditure. This analytical method calculates costs over the useful life of the asset. These and other cost savings can only be fully realised when they are incorporated at the project’s conceptual design phase with the assistance of an integrated team of professionals. The integrated systems approach ensures that the building is designed as one system rather than a collection of stand-alone systems.

Some benefits, such as improving occupant health, comfort, productivity, reducing pollution and landfill waste are not easily quantified. Consequently, they are not adequately considered in cost analysis. For this reason, consider setting aside a small portion of the building budget to cover differential costs associated with less tangible green building benefits or to cover the cost of researching and analyzing green building options. Even with a tight budget, many green building measures can be incorporated with minimal or zero increased up-front costs and they can yield enormous savings.
[Source: Middle East Centre for Sustainable Development]

What Makes a Building Green?
• Minimum disturbance to site conditions
• Use of Recycled & Environmental Friendly Building Material
• Use of Non-Toxic and recycled/recyclable Materials
• Efficient use of Water and Water Recycling
• Use of Energy Efficient and Eco-Friendly Equipment
• Use of Renewable Energy
• Indoor Air Quality for Human Safety and Comfort
• Effective Controls and Building Management Systems
[Source: Middle East Centre for Sustainable Development]