The Government’s City Academies and Building Schools for the Future programmes have brought construction and the condition of UK school buildings to the top of the education sector’s agenda in recent years, with plans to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in England over the next 10-15 years. And, with growing awareness of our impact on the environment, schools are also under pressure to make sure that their new build and refurbishment projects are meeting new targets for sustainability.
So, what can schools do to ensure that their buildings are meeting their primary objective of helping to raise educational achievements while also being sustainable?
What does sustainable construction mean for schools?
Put in its simplest terms, sustainability means meeting the needs of today without compromising future generations. Sustainable construction aims to use methods and materials that protect our resources and that will not compromise the health of the environment, those using the building or future generations. Sustainable school buildings should provide benefits to students, teachers and the local community, but also use less virgin material and less energy, cause less pollution and less waste.
Choosing sustainable materials
Schools should seek advice from manufacturers to ensure that construction materials such as floor and wall coverings will help them to meet sustainability targets. Manufacturers and suppliers have a vital role to play in sustainable construction and should be able to provide clear and honest information on their products to aid product selection for schools. For example, Altro has recently launched its dedicated sustainability brochure in support of its company processes and products.
Building products are also assessed and rated by the Building Research Establishment (BRE). Materials are rated using an ecopoints system in the BRE’s UKAS accredited testing laboratory. Schools specifying for new buildings or as part of a refurbishment programme should choose materials with a high environmental rating.
Altro Maxis Suprema is the very first safety flooring to have achieved an A rating, the highest rating under the BRE’s environmental profiling scheme, meaning that architects, specifiers and contractors can be assured of achieving sustainability targets for school projects.
Floor facts
Modern safety flooring such as Altro Suprema is, of course widely used throughout school buildings as it reduces the risk of slips and trips for pupils and teachers, while providing an attractive, easy to clean and durable surface. In recent years, PVC has often suffered from bad press based on misinformation, but if manufactured responsibly, PVC floor and wall coverings can be a sustainable choice for interior surfaces in schools.
Formed from two ingredients - salt (57%) and oil (43%) - PVC uses 15% less energy in production than linoleum and considerably less than ceramics. It is readily recyclable, or can be burned in modern waste incinerators to produce energy (electricity) and hot water. PVC uses less petroleum than other plastics and is neither toxic nor bio accumulative.
Bright future
With a vast range of modern floor and wall coverings available on the market, there is no need for schools to compromise when it comes to meeting their design, performance or sustainability targets. At Altro, we fully support the aims of sustainable construction and will continue our commitment to developing new products to meet our customers’ requirements. Providing specialist advice and technical information in a clear and easy to understand way is an important step towards a brighter future for our schools and the planet as a whole.
To request a copy of Altro’s sustainability brochure and for further information on Suprema and Altro’s full portfolio of interior surfaces, call 0800 018 2960 or visit www.altro.com
