Specifiers look to manufacturers and suppliers for better product data
The vast majority of construction professionals are looking for more assurance on the safety performance and sustainability credentials of building products, finds a new report…
Specifiers look to manufacturers and suppliers for better product data
The vast majority of construction professionals are looking for more assurance on the safety performance and sustainability credentials of building products, finds a new report…
The times are changing. While safety has been important in construction for a good while, the Grenfell disaster and the resulting Building Safety Bill have shown how safety has sometimes been sidelined and has put the topic in the spotlight. While sustainability – probably not a concern for the construction sector 30 years ago, say – is a topic that is increasingly unavoidable.
You don’t have to take our word for it. NBS recently published a study that highlighted how architects and other construction professionals are focusing on building product suppliers and manufacturers, placing products under the microscope in terms of safety and sustainability.
Just under half (43%) of construction professionals say it isn’t easy to find comprehensive detail about the safety performance and sustainability of building products.
Nine in ten architects said they considered third-party credentials to be ‘essential’ for safety-critical products, highlighting a need for manufacturers to verify technical information supplied for their products.
NBS’ “What Specifiers Want” report found that a whopping 86% of specifiers consider Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to be an important aspect of their decision process.
That said, just one in seven (14%) specifiers said they choose the most sustainable product on every specification. And nearly half (45%) said while they try to choose the greenest option, they can be swayed by cheaper alternatives. But, fewer than one in ten (7%) of specifiers fail to consider sustainability at all.
The NBS said: “These findings imply that a lack of readily available carbon information is hindering sustainable specification. To enable specifiers to identify the most sustainable building products, manufacturers need to supply comprehensive detail about their ranges. While some manufacturers are not doing this, anecdotally, those who do are reporting an increase in demand for both data requests and resulting specifications.”
You can access the full “What Specifiers Want” report from the NBS, a leading specification and construction product information platform...
Just under half (43%) of construction professionals say it isn’t easy to find comprehensive detail about the safety performance and sustainability of building products.
Nearly half (45%) said while they try to choose the greenest option, they can be swayed by cheaper alternatives.
// These findings imply that a lack of readily available carbon information is hindering sustainable specification. To enable specifiers to identify the most sustainable building products, manufacturers need to supply comprehensive detail about their ranges. While some manufacturers are not doing this, anecdotally, those who do are reporting an increase in demand for both data requests and resulting specifications. //
