Sustainability in building design and construction is more than just a hot topic. We’ve seen green building solutions and initiatives transform from business goals into requirements as communities and businesses make sustainability a priority.

Sustainability in Building Design & Construction with EPD Verification

To make more sustainable decisions when building or renovating a space, you need to know how the products or materials you’re selecting impact our natural environment. Skyfold is making it easier for specifiers to attain green building certification by offering a transparent look into their products’ environmental performance in their recently published Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), placing Skyfold among the first in the movable wall industry.

What is EPD Verification?

EPD, or Environmental Product Declaration, is a summary report of a product’s environmental performance based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a scientific process which examines the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life, from raw material extraction, through processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair/maintenance, to end of life (disposal or recycling). EPDs are prepared in accordance with international ISO standards as part of SCS Global Services’ EPD Program.

The EPDs are prepared by SCS and then verified by a third party and listed on SCS’ Certified Green Products Guide. The data for Skyfold’s EPDs were compiled by a team selected from Skyfold Engineering and Quality Assurance headed by Stephan Acolatse, an Engineering Supervisor at Skyfold, in collaboration with Skyfold’s parent company, dormakaba Group. 

What’s Included in Skyfold’s EPD Reports?

Life Cycle Assessment and EPDs were produced for all Skyfold flexible space solutions. While some companies only track the life cycle of their products while they are under their roof (e.g. cradle-to-gate), Skyfold EPDs track the complete manufacturing process, as well as the steps taken to get our products to their final destinations and end of life (e.g. cradle-to-grave).

Skyfold’s EPDs assess their products’ base materials, packaging, manufacturing, transportation, installation, operation and use when installed, maintenance, and various end of life scenarios.  

How Can EPDs Help Architects and Specifiers?

EPDs are essentially a window into understanding all the ways in which a product can impact the environment, and to what extent. EPDs are therefore extremely useful to specifiers, like architects, interior designers, and general contractors, for material or product selection when trying to find sustainable options for their buildings and spaces.

In addition, EPDs make it easier for specifiers to calculate a building or a space’s environmental footprint. When seeking green building certification, like LEED, WELL, and Green Globes, resources like EPD reports facilitate the certification and calculation processes.

How Does EPD Verification Impact Skyfold?

EPD verification allows Skyfold to put a label on marketing literature and product packaging to communicate that their products’ environmental performance has been verified by a third party. It also means that Skyfold can provide specifiers with thorough reports that outline all the details of their products’ environmental performance, which in turn can be used as a reference when achieving green building certification.  

Completing the EPD program is an opportunity for Skyfold to assess the materials used to fabricate their operable walls, the ways in which they’re built, transportation methods and end-of-life contexts. “What’s great is that EPDs give us the tools to reflect on our processes and products to evaluate where and how we can improve to make Skyfold an even greener flexible space solution for our customers and our natural environment,” Acolatse explains. “It’s not only insightful for us as engineers and innovators, but also, it shows our commitment to be a responsible business.”

Where Can I Find Skyfold’s EPDs?

Skyfold’s EPDs can be found online in SCS’s Certified Green Products Guide by searching for “Skyfold” in the Guide or on Skyfold’s website in the Sustainability section of the Resources. Either way, the Skyfold EPDs are free to view and download.

What’s Next for Skyfold and Sustainability?

As a member of the United Nations Global Compact since 2013, the dormakaba Group is dedicated to eight Sustainable Development Goals across their segments, making sustainability a foundation of their brand promise. Environmental Product Declarations are just one of the ways Skyfold is meeting dormakaba Group’s Sustainable Development Goals. Skyfold is also turning inward, with plans already in motion to make their offices and production facility more environmentally friendly.  Stay tuned for more sustainability updates from Skyfold.

 

Published: May 14, 2020