Admittedly when I first joined the committee for BS 8905 I wondered what it would be like, whether anything useful would come of it and if I would actually enjoy the process.
The committee was chaired by Louis Brimacombe of Tata Steel Europe and supported by Ben Sheridan of BSI. The remainder of the committee consisted of environmentalists, research bodies and people from completely different industries. This in itself was a change to seeing the usual suspects (not knocking them in any way) and the context of the discussion was also rather different. We were trying to scope out the need and the reason for wanting to produce a standard along these lines, there was some soul searching to be had and we eventually came to a place of agreement. Perhaps in other areas of work and life, things would be simpler if all parties agreed on the scope before venturing off into a project or task.
Developing sustainable use of building materials
Well over a year on the standard has been launched, BS 8905:2011 - Framework for the assessment of the sustainable use of materials. Guidance. As part of my research I have sought to apply the general framework to ready-mixed concrete; developing a framework standard which looks at social, environmental and economic issues related to the product, manufacturing process and its uses.
What I think will be an industry first is that all three aspects of sustainability are equally weighted; there are already tools and systems that focus on the social, environmental or economic issues in isolation or even two of these areas, but not all three. BS 8905 has certainly helped to shape my research and it has been quite an enjoyable experience.
Can I lay claim to an industry first? I certainly hope so. More will be revealed in the forthcoming BS 8905 case study and during Ecobuild 2012; stay tuned…