What building material is sustainable?

 Did you know that approximately 40-50% of the overall global raw material flow is dedicated to producing building products and components?

According to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme, this trend significantly contributes to the environmental footprint of buildings, as it involves substantial energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions throughout their lifecycle. Furthermore, the growing scarcity of mineral resources and, notably, water resources underscores the need to broaden our perspective beyond just energy usage in buildings and its associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Source: PhotoDune

Sustainability

Sustainability should be practiced by your building materials supplier. Sustainable materials are those that have undergone processes with minimal environmental impact during their production, installation, and maintenance phases. They must possess qualities such as durability, reusability, or recyclability and should incorporate recyclable components in their composition. Additionally, they should originate from local resources in the area where construction activities are conducted, thus qualifying as local materials. These materials should also be derived from natural sources (e.g., soil, adobe, wood, cork, bamboo, straw, sawdust) and should be resistant to damage from cold, heat, or humidity. Wood construction materials are abundant primarily because of the reasonable coco lumber price in the Philippines. The construction sector, including operators of hardware in the Philippines, undoubtedly needs to improve its environmental practices. After all, we currently have no alternative planet to call home, making the promotion of sustainability crucial for our well-being and the well-being of generations to come. The encouraging news? Professionals in the construction industry including building materials supplier are already taking positive strides. Builders are actively exploring sustainable construction materials as alternatives to substances like concrete and good lumber that have affordable price in the Philippines.