Part 2 – Introduction to Material Transparency

by Scott Conwell, FAIA, FCSI, LEED AP, Director of Industry Development International Masonry Institute

Reducing our carbon footprint with tile:

One way building product manufacturers demonstrate the environmental impacts of their products is to report what goes into their materials and how toxic those ingredients are. This reporting must be transparent, it must be accurate, and it should follow a standardized format so specifiers can make well-informed decisions on material selection. Because the ingredients that go into ceramic tiles are natural and environmentally friendly, material ingredient reports typically favor tile over other materials.

TCAA tile contractors should have a basic understanding of material ingredient reporting and the importance of transparency so they can communicate the sustainable benefits of tile to their customers, clients, and stakeholders. This article is the second in a 6-part series about the many ways ceramic tile contributes to sustainable project goals by… just being tile.

Click here for a short video clip about building material transparency: https://youtu.be/NmvrCapMfmQ

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has a good definition of building material transparency on their website: “Manufacturers disclosing the environmental, health, and social impacts of their products.” When design professionals really understand what goes into a particular building material, they can make educated decisions about what materials to specify.

Material transparency is the foundation of a new document published by the Tile Council of North America (TCNA), the Material Ingredient Guide. The Material Ingredient Guide lists four steps to transparency: inventory, screening & assessing, disclosing, and optimizing.

In producing this guide, TCNA collaborated with 17 manufacturers of tile, setting materials, and grouts, gathering detailed information about the makeup of their products. The guide can be downloaded at https://whytile.com/library/material-ingredient-guide/

Transparency in disclosing building ingredients keeps manufacturers accountable. Tools like the Material Ingredient Guide help unify and standardize the reporting process required in sustainable rating systems like LEED. LEED v4’s Building Product Disclosure and Optimization (BPDO) credits provide incentives for material ingredient reporting, acknowledging that such reporting can ultimately lead to carbon reduction.

Click here for a short video clip introducing the Material Ingredient Guide and showing an example of how material ingredient reporting contributes to LEED credits, and ultimately to the carbon reduction that goes along with using natural materials like tile and stone: https://youtu.be/nlO9mKc1XYE

My next column will examine the four parts to building material transparency: Inventory, screen & assess, disclose, and optimize, and how a greater level of transparency gives tile a competitive edge.