Page 40 - Occupational Health & Safety, April 2018

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The Future of Sustainability
In the next five years, we’ll see sustainability in commercial projects moving from a luxury to a requirement. Examining your product and its performance now will put you ahead of the curve.
BY JASON BRUBAKER
EP4 Environmental Protection | APRIL 2018
www.eponline.com
The future of green building won’t depend on any one product, practice, or technology. Rather, it will depend on how these three elements come together to produce projects that take equal consideration for the overall health of the building, its occupants and the environment. Ar- chitects and designers today have a keen understand- ing that when the environment benefits, building occupants benefit. As designers serve the emerging wave of clients who recognize the responsibility each of us have to continue to better our communities, cit- ies and world, the need rises for products that meet and exceed their expectations of what green design can be. In today’s market, a plank of wood can reflect an entire company’s core values; in our case, to make the future better than today. I believe that this trend will continue as new products and projects emerge that benefit both the world and the people in it, rather than one or the other.
High-profile projects such as Atlanta’s new Mer- cedes-Benz Stadium serve as leading examples of how product performance and sustainability go hand in hand for the current wave of designers. To serve as the city’s premier hub for massive sporting events, the
highest-quality building products had to be used to withstand the demands of huge crowds and eliminate the need for replacement down the line. In selecting flooring for the AT&T Perch section of the stadium, the TVS Design team chose our low-emitting, acrylic- infused hardwood for its combination of unmatched durability and sustainability.
Eliminating the need for replacement is the most sustainable practice we can have as manufacturers. By design, durability is one of the most important factors in reducing environmental impact. If we eliminate the need to remove and replace core building elements, there is no excess waste to haul away; no need to fix a problem with new adhesive; no additional carbon emissions from shipping new goods.
An equally important element is, of course, to ensure goods are manufactured using green tech- nology and practices to produce a low-emitting product, but we believe these two beneficial quali- ties go hand in hand.
Moving Toward Holistic Sustainability
To move toward holistic sustainability, here are steps manufacturers can take to enhance product perfor-
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