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Buildings can have a profound impact on the environment. Adopting more sustainable construction materials can contribute to buildings that reduce VOC emissions and leave a smaller environmental footprint.
According to the World Green Building Council, a green building is a piece of infrastructure that, through its design, construction, or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts while positively affecting our climate and natural environment. Any building or structure can be classified as a green building if it meets these criteria.
Climate and environmental changes require materials for the construction of sustainable buildings and infrastructure. Our paints and coatings not only meet important green building standards, but also ensure proven performance and aesthetic appeal.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that buildings and infrastructure, including their construction processes, account for approximately 38% of the global CO₂ emissions annually. To counter this industry-wide challenge, regulatory and financial incentives are encouraging project owners, developers, and other stakeholders to meet specific criteria based on standards such as LEED and BREEAM, set by international organisations.
Below are the questions we get asked the most related to Green Building Solutions.
Absolutely!
Paints and coatings typically represent a very low investment in the overall cost of a building, but can be a big contributing factor to a greener building. In fact, for the LEED standard – the cost of paints and coatings, which is typically less than 0.5-2% of a building cost, can contribute to as much as 17% of your overall LEED points.
The US Green Building Council (USGBC) - who developed LEED - does not certify, endorse or promote products, services or companies, nor does it track, list or report data related to products and their environmental qualities.
LEED is a certification system that deals with the environmental performance of buildings based on overall characteristics of the project. It does not award credits based on the use of particular products but rather upon meeting the performance standards set forth in the rating systems.
It is up to project teams to determine which products are most appropriate for credit achievement and program requirements.
Although USGBC does not certify, promote, or endorse products and services of individual companies, products and services do play a contributing role and can help projects with credit achievement.
To help achieve your targeted green building standard easily, take a closer look at your material selection. For example in LEED, paints and coatings from Jotun’s Green Building Solutions can increase your building’s point eligibility across three different categories: sustainable sites, materials and resources in addition to indoor environmental quality.
The first step is to read up on the standard, and ensure you understand a little bit about it.
To specify paints and coatings for your project, our Green Building Solutions page is a great place to start. We have pre-written standard specifications for LEED, and our product page can help you navigate in the regionally available paints and coatings that can help you achieve your green building standard easier.
Although VOC is given different priority in different regions, overall lowering VOC emissions is an important green step.
In some countries, there are bans or strict regulations on how much VOC you can emit in a project or as a company.
In general, lowering VOC is a sustainable choice, and when selecting paints and coatings, looking for low VOC solutions will be beneficial.
From many perspectives, green buildings deliver a variety of benefits to your business and society at large. Green building standards provide a framework for carrying out construction and maintenance in an environmentally responsible – or green - manner. But they can make economic sense in building development, too.
Green building standards provide a holistic approach towards reducing a building’s environmental footprint, can add rental or sale value to a property and increase the focus on healthier solutions for the workers and occupants.
A common myth is that the same building standards are applied to determine whether a product installed within the building is green or not. But it is common practice for such rating schemes to reference specific product standards and/or certifications and require supporting documentation to substantiate claims.
There are a wide range available depending on your requirements and project location.
Jotun knows achieving green building standards can be complicated, so it developed Green Building Solutions to make it as easy as possible.
Green Building Solutions incorporates Jotun's set of hand-picked low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) and green building products for
Want to know more? Read about Jotun's Single source solutions.
The most common standards are:
Read more about common green building standards or check out the World Green Building Council's comprehensive list of all the rating tools used globally.
According to World Green Building Council, a green building is a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment.
Green buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.
Any building can be a green building, whether it’s a home, an office, a school, a hospital, a community centre, or any other type of structure, provided it includes features listed above.
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) communicates the environmental performance of products to its customers. EPDs are considered the gold standard in transparency and are increasingly used by architects and specifiers to select products when designing a green building.
A Product Specific Type III (third party verified) EPD is a declaration that quantifies environmental information on the life cycle of a product. The EPD methodology is based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) following ISO 14025, ISO 14044 and ISO 21930.
Type III EPDs are verified by a third party and is registered and published by an EPD operator.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the most widely used green building rating system and LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement.
Available for virtually all building project types, from new construction to interior fit-outs and operation & maintenance, LEED provides a framework that project teams can apply to create healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings.
The various LEED rating systems developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) committees are created to transform the built environment and help towards lowering impacts by providing the building industry with consistent, credible standards for what constitutes a green building.
According to World Green Building Council, there are a number of features which can make a building ‘green’. These include:
All Jotun’s EPDs can be found and downloaded from www.epd-norge.no, or simply by filtering for products on our Green Buildings Solutions product page.
A substantial part of Jotun's research and development resources are dedicated to developing more sustainable products and technologies. The Jotun GreenSteps program and its five impact reduction areas are always on the innovation agenda:
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) may be used for different applications including green product selection and building assessments.
Since it is transparent and verified comparable information, EPDs can help you assess the lifecycle implications of a chosen product from the design stage.
There are many standards to choose from globally. According to World Green Building Council, different countries and regions have a variety of characteristics such as:
ll of this shapes a country's approach to green building and will be reflected in the various green standards in the region.
Exposed elements of a building are at risk of damage through impact or wear and tear. This can result in significant and unnecessary materials use and waste generation across the life of a building.
In addition, climate change can significantly accelerate the deterioration of materials used in a building. It is therefore important to consider the impact of climate change and its associated environmental changes on the vulnerable elements within the built environment.
Surfaces coated with highly durable paints and coatings will not need to be repainted as frequently, so the raw materials, energy, and environmental impacts invested in them can be spread out over more time. Thus, higher durability of the coating will not just positively impact its own lifecycle but also that of the whole building.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are important contributors to achieving green building certifications. Jotun’s handpicked paints and coatings contribute to earning LEED points in an easy way.
Climate and environmental changes require new innovations of green building products for the construction of buildings. Jotun’s Green Building Solutions makes it easier to choose the right products with the necessary documentations, contributing to points in green building certifications.
Green building certifications and accreditations play an increasingly important part in the construction of buildings. Learn more about how you can meet green building requirements while benefiting from proven performance.
Please contact us if you have any inquiries about green building products and documentations.
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