SUSTAINABILITY

THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR POLLUTES A LOT

According to European Union statistics, the building sector has a significant impact on the environment, with energy consumption of 40% and 36% of CO2 emissions from the resulting processes. building materials and energy used for the use of buildings. Much of the energy used comes from conventional energy sources (gas, coal, oil) and therefore the construction and use of a building has an impact on the environment.

Basically, we can say that each building has a carbon footprint during its life cycle (construction and use). In terms of construction materials, they have a carbon footprint, representing the energy consumed and the associated emissions for each process, from the extraction of the raw material, to the production processes and to the finished product. The higher the carbon footprint, the more polluting the manufacturing processes behind that product. For example, steel and concrete are responsible, globally, for 4% of emissions total CO2 , more than sea, air and rail transport combined.

You can see here the CO2 emissions on each sector and if you want to know more about the impact of buildings on the environment, I wrote a dedicated article on the blog .

WOOD, A SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL

Contrary to expectations, it is sustainable to build with wood, although we need to cut trees for that. How? Well, wood is a natural material, available in abundance in nature and, more importantly, is renewable. Like any living organism, a tree has a life cycle, since it emerges from the ground, becomes young and grows in height and width, then reaches maturity, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis during all this time. After a certain age, depending on the species, it ages, emits more CO2 through perspiration than it can absorb through photosynthesis, is attacked by organisms, gives way and reintegrates back into the natural circuit by decomposition.

If exploited responsibly, a forest can generate raw material for construction continuously, if the cycle is closed and other trees are planted instead of the cut ones. We make sure that both the wood supplied by our partners and the one we exploit come from verified sources and we take steps to close the cycle through afforestation campaigns in our area.

Throughout life, a tree absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere and converts it largely into cellulose, the component that gives it value as a building material. The carbon footprint of wood is negative and practically, a house on a wooden structure stores carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in its structure, instead of producing emissions (as is the case with other building materials) according to the table below.

Amprenta de carbon a principalelor materiale de constructie, lemn, beton, caramida, otel

WE EFFICIENT MATERIAL CONSUMPTION

The factory production process of wooden structures creates a great advantage compared to carpentry on site - reducing the consumption of wood materials. From the design stage , using specialized software, we optimize the quantities of material, both wood and cladding, which later reach the production sheets. Later, in the factory, we produce the structures, either wooden farms or timberframe houses, using production processes with millimeter precision but also using the smaller wood stocks that remain from previous projects. What can no longer be used in structures is transformed into energy. Therefore , the prefabricated wooden structures that then arrive at the construction site generate 10-20% less waste than the traditional ones.

WE BUILD TO STANDARD nZEB

The nZEB (nearly Zero Energy Building) standard is an energy efficiency standard in buildings and means that any newly built building must have an energy consumption of almost zero. We mentioned earlier that the construction sector is a big consumer of energy, 70% of the consumption being used for heating and cooling homes. So our comfort is polluting. But we believe that you can have the same level of comfort and lower energy consumption, meeting the requirements of nZEB.

There are several principles that underlie a house with an energy consumption almost equal to 0, including proper thermal insulation of the foundation, walls and roof, energy-efficient windows, limiting uncontrolled air infiltration, ventilation with heat recovery and others. All put together, it contributes significantly to the significant reduction in energy consumption, with up to 90% compared to a standard home. More details about Case nZEB can be found on the dedicated page.

We care about this topic, which is why we are member in Cluster pro nZEB and we actively contribute to the promotion and implementation of this standard in Romania through the cluster projects but also through our Wooden Houses projects.

Miradex este promotor nZEB si este membru in Cluster Pro nZEB

PROVIDER OF SOLUTIONS FOR GREEN DWELLINGS

Because we are talking about sustainability in construction, we are a member of the Romania Green Building Council (RoGBC) the most important organization in Romania that develops projects and programs to support the sustainable development of the construction sector. We believe in the RoGBC mission and are actively involved in its initiatives, the most important and relevant for us being the GREEN HOMES green certification program. Under the program, we are certified as Green Housing Solution Providers, which means that our products meet the requirements of a green home.

GREEN HOMES by RoGBC is the most adopted green certification scheme on the residential segment in Romania and addresses in an integrated way all components of a home, from the land on which it is built, to the materials used, energy consumption, quality of the environment, such as waste is managed during and after construction and other related criteria. We wrote a dedicated blog article about our collaboration with RoGBC.

Miradex este un Furnizor de Solutii pentru Locuinte Verzi acreditat de Romania Green Building Council