The new ISO 15392:2008 standard establishes internationally recognised principles for sustainability in building construction. It thus provides a common basis for communication between stakeholders such as builders and architects, product manufacturers and designers, building owners, policy makers and regulators, housing authorities, and consumers.
ISO 15392 is based on the concept of sustainable development as it applies to buildings and other construction works, from "the cradle to the grave". Over their life cycle, construction works absorb considerable resources and contribute to the transformation of the environment. As a result, they can have considerable economic consequences, and impacts on both the environment and human health.
The foundations elaborated in ISO 15392:2008, Sustainability in building construction – General principles, form the basis for a suite of standards intended to address specific issues and aspects of sustainability. They are applicable to buildings and other construction works individually and collectively, as well as to building materials, products, services and processes.
The building and construction sector is a key sector in national economies and the built environment is a major element in determining quality of life, as well as contributing to cultural identity and heritage.
Addressing sustainability in buildings and other construction works includes the interpretation and consideration of sustainable development in terms of its three primary aspects – economic, environmental, and social aspects – while meeting the requirements for technical and functional performance.
The principles elaborated in ISO 15392 take into account that while the challenge of sustainable development is global, the strategies for addressing sustainability in building construction are essentially local and differ in context and content from region to region.
The standard acknowledges that these strategies will reflect the context, the preconditions and the priorities and needs, not only in the built environment, but also in the social environment. This social environment includes social equity, culture, traditions, heritage, health and comfort, social infrastructure and safe and healthy environments. It may, in addition, particularly in developing countries, include poverty reduction and job creation.
Leaders of the international committees that develop ISO’s International Standards met in Geneva, Switzerland, for a two-day conference to improve further the efficiency and global relevance of the organisation’s standards development system.
ISO secretary-general Alan Bryden put their work in context by declaring, “Not only is business global today, but so is the response to a number of challenges, such as climate change, with all its complexity, and the provision of food for a growing world population, as well as constraints on supplies of raw materials, energy, water, security and healthcare.
ISO president Håkan Murby said, “We contend that our standards, taken as a whole, make a major contribution to all three dimensions of sustainability: economic growth, environmental integrity and social equity.”
The ISO president explained how ISO standards addressed each of these aspects. Firstly, by providing tools for business transactions and eliminating barriers to trade, consolidating innovation and contributing to interoperability and the dissemination of new technologies and best practices, ISO standards fuel economic growth. The “toolbox” of standards for conformity assessment, which can be used to increase confidence in products and services, is also part of this contribution.
In the environmental field, ISO standards support the dissemination of environmentally friendly and energy efficient technologies and practices. There are moreover, a growing number of standards on sustainability in relation to activities such as building construction, treatment of waste, the quality of water services, and air, water and soil quality. ISO has also recently launched strategic initiatives on energy efficiency and renewable sources.
As for social equity, there are standards on consumer protection, safety at work, accessibility requirements for people with disabilities, and a diverse range of healthcare initiatives. Murby added, “Consensus-based standards for products and services on the one hand, and for conformity assessment procedures on the other, are of growing interest to public policy makers in the context of good public governance and better regulation.”
What is ISO 15392?
The true meaning and objective of ISO 15392 can be found in the general principles. We see a paradigm shift in terms of green buildings being the goal; the focus is now entirely on sustainable development – and on how green buildings can contribute towards achieving it.
“Many sustainable development objectives do not directly relate to, and yet are clearly influenced by, the built environment. Instead of referring to absolute attributes, such as “sustainable construction” or “sustainable building”, it is more appropriate to discuss the extent to which the built environment and its elements support and contribute to sustainable development.”
The suite of standards intended to address specific issues and aspects of sustainability in building construction relies heavily on the foundations described in ISO 15392:2008, Sustainability in building construction – General principles (You can purchase a copy at www.iso.org at a price of 96 Swiss Francs).
On the issue of ‘environmental declaration of building products’ in building construction, the general principles makes it amply clear that the declaration must comply with ISO 21930. Environmental declarations according to ISO 21930 and ISO 14025 are declarations with specific focus on environmental impact. Declarations for other sustainability aspects are being developed by the ISO (service life declarations, product declarations, etc.)
When it comes to the ‘framework for methods of assessment for environmental performance of construction works’, the general principle states ISO/TS 21931:2006 provides a general framework for improving the quality and comparability of methods for assessing the environmental performance of buildings. It identifies and describes issues to be taken into account when using methods for the assessment of environmental performance for new or existing building properties in the design, construction, operation, refurbishment and deconstruction stages.
What is most exciting is the clause, “It is intended be used in conjunction with, and following the principles set out in, the ISO 14000 series of International Standards.”
Many developers in the UAE are yet to be ISO 14001 certified. There is a genuine lack of understanding of the relevance of ISO 14001 in the Middle East market. Many companies are still in the process of securing an ISO 9001 certification, and are completely unaware of the importance of ISO 14001.
The ISO 15392 guideline, which focuses heavily on sustainability, gives very clear definition on the subject. Sustainability is defined as, "state in which components of the ecosystem and their functions are maintained for the present and future generations."
The document admits that the challenge of sustainability is global and the strategies for sustainability in building construction are local and differ in context and content from region to region.
“In building construction, it relates to how the attributes of the activities, products or services used in the construction work or the use of the construction works contribute to the maintenance of ecosystem components and functions for future generations.”
It also identifies the “components of the ecosystem” as one that includes plants and animals, as well as humans and their physical environment. It recognises the significance of cultural conditions for societies’ existence as a key element of human need apart from the economic, environmental and social aspects.
Referring to the Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, the guideline states that overriding priority should be given to eradication of poverty and to meet the essential needs of the world's poor.
Sustainable Development is defined as, "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
ISO 15392 provides a great opportunity for planners to put ‘sustainable development’ on the top of their agenda. The very idea that all resources should provide a better quality of life, equally for present and future generations, is one that could change the world we live in. The clear objective of ISO 15392 is to encourage sustainable development in its true sense, taking a holistic look at our society and environment.
In many parts of the world, social justice and empowering the poor seems to be a distant dream. Now that ISO has set the standard, and with 157 nations being signatories to it, the world simply cannot turn its back on ISO 15392. Like all other ISO standards, ISO 15392 too is a voluntary standard. What it does is – it gives us a chance to create a sustainable and just world.
ISO 15392:2008
- identifies and establishes general principles for sustainability in building construction. It is based on the concept of sustainable development as it applies to the life cycle of buildings and other construction works, from their inception to the end of life
- is applicable to buildings and other construction works individually and collectively, as well as to the materials, products, services and processes related to the life cycle of buildings and other construction works
- does not provide levels (benchmarks) that can serve as the basis for sustainability claims. It is not intended to provide the basis for assessment of organizations or other stakeholders
ISO 21930:2007
- provides the principles and requirements for type III environmental declarations (EPD) of building products
- contains specifications and requirements for the EPD of building products. Where this International Standard contains more specific requirements, it complements ISO 14025 for the EPD of building products
- provides a framework for and the basic requirements for product category rules as defined in ISO 14025 for type III environmental declarations of building products. Type III environmental declarations for building products, as described in ISO 21930:2007, are primarily intended for use in business-to-business communication, but their use in business-to-consumer communication under certain conditions is not precluded
- does not define requirements for developing type III environmental declaration programmes. Requirements for type III environmental declaration programmes are found in ISO 14025
Important features of ISO 21930 for the environmental declaration of a building material include:
- Using the full life cycle of the material as the basis for comparison or declaration
- Where the full life cycle is not used, it must be stated that it is not for comparison
- A set of environmental impact characterisation indicators and information that must be justified if omitted
- A process for developing a list of environmental information that must be reported
- Documentation and verification process
- Reference to already established ISO Life Cycle Assessment standards to underpin the methodology
- Linking to other ISO standards for ‘Sustainability in Building Construction’ to provide the context for the environmental performance of the whole building
ISO 14001:2004
ISO 14001:2004 specifies requirements for an environmental management system to enable an organization to develop and implement a policy and objectives which take into account legal requirements and other requirements to which the organization subscribes, and information about significant environmental aspects. It applies to those environmental aspects that the organization identifies as those which it can control and those which it can influence. It does not itself state specific environmental performance criteria.
ISO 14001:2004 is applicable to any organization that wishes to establish, implement, maintain and improve an environmental management system, to assure itself of conformity with its stated environmental policy, and to demonstrate conformity with ISO 14001:2004 by
- making a self-determination and self-declaration, or
- seeking confirmation of its conformance by parties having an interest in the organization, such as customers, or
- seeking confirmation of its self-declaration by a party external to the organization, or
- seeking certification/registration of its environmental management system by an external organization
All the requirements in ISO 14001:2004 are intended to be incorporated into any environmental management system. The extent of the application will depend on factors such as the environmental policy of the organization, the nature of its activities, products and services and the location where and the conditions in which it functions.
