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Gerflor comments on "A+" environmental assessment for PVC floorcoverings

PVC Floorcoverings get "A+" environmental assessment in BRE Global's Green Guide Online;  Gerflor comments

BRE Global has published generic Green Guide ratings for vinyl floorcoverings (www.thegreenguide.org.uk).

The generic products on the Green Guide Online include floorcoverings for health, education, and retail applications and give an indication of the environmental performance that the Gerflor range may achieve in the respective use categories.

Use of the generic product ratings will help specifiers achieve the highest possible BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) rating for new buildings and reduce the overall impact of their projects on the environment.

The scheme - which assesses the environmental impact of construction products - confounds the previously widespread belief that construction products made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are inherently damaging to the environment. PVC is possibly the most widely tested construction material and the most recent evidence has shown it to be a major contributor to reducing environmental impact within the construction industry.

Hazel Cook, Contract Marketing Manager for Gerflor, explains that the new A+ rating applies to vinyl flooring products generically, not just Gerflor's, and that the new scheme rating system clears up a long-standing confusion: "Previously, vinyl flooring was given a generic B rating. However, as more and more manufacturers, including Gerflor, submitted individual products for testing they all received A ratings - the highest rating at the time.

 "BRE has now reviewed all the scientific and environmental data available and by taking this into account, PVC flooring like PVC windows, some months ago has been shown quite clearly to be playing its part in reducing the construction industry's impact on the wider environment" adds Hazel.

BRE's Green Guide to Specification Floor Finishes section, which went live on line on 31^st March, rates products against a range of criteria including fossil fuel consumption, carbon emissions and pollution. "Basically, it looks at all the things everyone is concerned about environmentally and assesses the impact of each building component according to the typical use in various building types e.g. schools as opposed to hospitals etc" says Hazel,  "We have known for years that our products use far less oil to manufacture than other seemingly natural products and of course they are "endlessly recyclable" and completely inert posing no threat to either human or animal health." she adds.

Gerflor is a member of Vinyl 2010, an industry group which is actively increasing the amount of PVC recycling across the whole of Europe as well as here in the UK.

For further information on Gerflor, please call 0870 2647 581