Building material catalogue
Imagine healthy buildings. Natural, healthy, durable, efficient. Picture a future where what we build with contributes to both human well-being and the planet’s health. These materials come from renewable sources, created with minimal environmental impact. They are designed for efficiency and durability, ensuring they last. And when they reach their end of life, they are reborn: transformed, repurposed, or recycled. Reducing waste, conserving health, resources, and habitats. These materials make us feel good because they symbolise a commitment to a brighter, responsible future. To make this dream come true, people around the world are working on such materials. There is still a long way to go, but we have also come a long way already. Let us continue this journey together. With this catalogue, we invite you to explore today’s sustainable materials (and more). This catalogue is dedicated to promoting sustainable construction. Its aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of a wide range of sustainable construction materials, their ecological properties, applications, and contributions to a circular, climate-neutral living environment, free of hazardous chemicals. Our intention is to empower municipalities, building project leads, architects, designers, contractors, homeowners, and DIY enthusiasts with the knowledge they need to make sustainable choices when selecting construction materials for their projects.
Occurence of substances of concern in BSR buildings, construction materials and sites
Urban environments are constantly evolving, with construction and development playing a crucial role in shaping our cities. These processes mean progress in many areas, however, they often come with hidden dangers in the form of hazardous substances present in building materials. The NonHazCity 3 project works towards changing the fact that hazardous substances sneak into our buildings and neighbouring matrices. The screening activities conducted within this project give insights to where further, more extensive screening and research activities are needed to be able to eventually eliminate the risks and create safer, healthier urban spaces. The NonHazCity 3 project focused on five cities in the Baltic Sea Region: Tallinn, Helsinki, Turku, Västerås, and Stockholm. The aim was to get a better understanding of how building materials contribute to contamination in both outdoor and indoor environments. To achieve this, the team conducted targeted pollutant screenings across five matrices: construction materials, stormwater, indoor dust and air, and residential wastewater. Although not all matrices were screened in each location, significant findings emerged that shed light on the presence and sources of hazardous substances.
