Sustainable initiatives include any activity aimed at reducing the consumption of resources, with a particular focus on carbon emissions. There are many benefits to implementing sustainable strategies, such as cost savings, employee engagement and motivation improvements, target achievement, and more. In this article, Garland UK Technical Manager Daniel Sandell discusses how you can reduce costs and improve energy efficiency at your estates.
Your roof can make a significant difference
Roofing projects provide a perfect opportunity to improve the sustainability of your whole building, helping to fulfil legislative requirements whilst providing added value to your building assets.
Facilities managers can see a significant reduction in the overall carbon emissions of a building through reductions in embodied carbon, operational carbon and reductions in carbon at the end-of-life phase of your roof.
Embodied Carbon
The most effective way of decreasing embodied carbon emissions is to choose a roofing system with a long lifespan that should outlast its guarantee. Compared with shorter-life products, which of course, would need replacing much sooner, this greatly reduces the carbon required to produce the system. Typically, buildings are designed to last for about 60 years, so the closer you can get to achieving this, the better. Additionally, where possible, you should specify a roofing system that uses recycled materials and is recyclable to reduce the system’s embodied carbon.
By conducting thorough condition reports of your existing roofing structure, it is easy to avoid unnecessarily removing the existing deck or insulation whilst conducting any refurbishment or repairs, minimising the number of new materials needed to restore your roof and thus reducing its carbon emissions. A moisture mapping survey, in particular, can help to identify very specific areas of water ingress so that these areas can be targeted exclusively for repair.
Roof encapsulation solutions should also be seriously considered when a complete roof replacement is necessary. This allows the existing roofing structure to remain in place whilst providing a new waterproofing system This, of course, eliminates the need for the existing roof to go to landfill, not only saving you the disposal costs but again further reducing the embodied carbon emissions as a result.
Operational Carbon
There are a number of opportunities where a roofing system can help to reduce the operational carbon of the whole building. Photovoltaic solar panels can be incorporated into your roofing system to provide renewable energy that can be used to reduce the energy consumption of the building.
Green roofs are another very effective way of reducing the operational carbon of your building by improving thermal efficiency, whilst actively capturing carbon dioxide through the vegetation it incorporates.
Finally, roofing projects allow for increased insulation to be applied, which again will improve the thermal efficiency of the building, requiring less heating and cooling and thus improving the structure’s overall energy efficiency.
End-of-Life Carbon Reduction
The End of Life phase of the Whole Carbon Life-Cycle should also be considered, as it can provide more opportunities to reduce carbon emissions. It is essential to partner with both a manufacturer and approved contractors that encourage mindful waste management, mitigating the need for landfill disposal wherever possible.
Specifying a roofing system that is 100% recyclable at the end of its usable life is possible. Metal roofs, such as Garland UK’s R-MER range, are a perfect example of this. Recycled metals produce as much as 90% less carbon when compared with metals processed from ore.
Carbon Accounting
To be able to accurately assess the carbon footprint of your building, it is important to complete a carbon baseline report. From this, the improvements you make by installing PV panels and green roofs, for example, can identify the improvements made and the operational carbon savings documented.
Both BREEAM and LEED encourage the use of Life Cycle Costing to help to quantify these variables and assess the sustainability of your project, whilst providing you with accurate long-term costings and savings.
Again, to have the most accurate data for use in Carbon Accounting for your project, your manufacturer roofing partner must be able to provide you with data that complies with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the world’s most widely-used greenhouse gas accounting standard. Data must be provided for Scope 1 (direct emissions from owned/controlled sources) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions from their own use of electricity/ heating etc.).
Top tips for long-term benefits
Two general points should always be considered when choosing the right roofing solution for your sustainability objectives.
Firstly, quantifiable results should be provided by your manufacturing partner. We always advise our clients to research and ask questions about environmental claims being made about building materials, as, unfortunately, greenwashing can be prevalent in the industry. In some cases, the sustainable credentials are diluted, circumstantial, or irrelevant to your projects. Always check the Technical Data Sheets in detail to avoid falling for these misrepresentations.
Secondly, to ensure your roofing project supports your sustainability initiatives, do not look at the short-term cost; look at the long-term goals and benefits this will entail. This also often leads to real long-term cost savings. For example, with photovoltaic systems, you can see an ROI in as little as 4 years.
Garland UK’s Technical Managers have a wealth of experience providing roofing solutions that will cut the carbon emissions of your building, helping you to achieve your sustainability goals.
