ANAB
National Sustainable Architecture Association
Eiffelgres Via Radici in Piano, 9-11 - 41042 Fiorano (MO) - Italy T +39 0536 996811 F +39 0536 996825 infoeiffelgres.com www.eiffelgres.it
ANAB was established in 1999 to promote the principles of sustainable development through research, education and consulting services, issuing environmental sustainability certification for building products. The mark is awarded to products that obtain certification of their compliance with assessment criteria controlled and validated by ICEA, the Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification. ICEA analyses products requiring environmental quality labelling and measures the results against standard established values; it is one of the most important organisations of its kind in Europe, having tested 11 thousand companies for ethical, environmental and social values. The goal pursued through certification of materials for sustainable architecture is clearly "improving the quality of construction products by reducing harmful emissions and energy consumption and using renewable resources for product units during the pre-production, production and post-production stages, to meet the needs of the environment, health and safety of workers and users". It is clear that ANAB conducts an interdisciplinary analysis contemplating all dimensions ecological, social, economic and cultural contributing to formation of the concept of sustainability.
How ANAB works
ISO 14000
ISO 14000 standards are a series of requirements for an EMS (Environment Management System), that is, a process for defining, monitoring and reviewing environmental targets.
The criteria on the basis of which ANAB assessed Eiffelgres products for certification take into account the material's entire life cycle, from obtaining raw materials to final use, monitoring all stages in production to guarantee respect for the environment. ANAB first analyses how the clay used to make porcelain stoneware is obtained and looks at the sites that supply it. The quantities used and the procedures applied for obtaining raw materials at extraction sites in Italy and elsewhere are required to comply with national and/or local legislation for the protection of soil, water, flora, fauna and landscape. All this is protected by special legislation drawing primarily on European Community environmental directives, in parallel with ISO 14001 certification, which the certifying body relies on for definition of criteria and measures. The raw materials themselves, when undergoing processing, must not be subjected to significant alteration with addition of forbidden additives, and the quantities of any additional substances used must not exceed pre-established limits, above which they may constitute a risk to the environment or to human health. The second stage which is attentively assessed in the certification process is production.
The requirements of the ANAB standards involve: management of water use, emission of substances into the water and the atmosphere, energy consumption, waste production and management in the production process. All these points must meet the requirements of the standards in terms of quantities, limits and strict regulations aimed at cutting waste and emission of pollutants into the environment. Many of the requirements are based on the standards set in ISO 14040, optimised through a systematic approach such as LCA or Life Cycle Analysis. Lastly, the product's characteristics and the effects of its use in its final form are analysed. Eiffelgres materials are required to meet the level of performance for which they are designed, first of all, in terms of quality, function and aesthetic value; they must not give off substances damaging to human health in the indoor or outdoor environment, and they must not exceed the limit set for radiation emissions. Lastly, it must be made clear to the end user how the product is to be used and maintained by providing clear, comprehensible information, also explaining how to dispose of the material in an ecological fashion when it is no longer required.
On indoor air quality
It has been noted that many of the materials used in construction contain damaging substances and cause indoor pollution in the home and the workplace. Today we tend to spend most of our time indoors and, above all, the indoor environment is increasingly well-insulated to protect it from the temperature outside with insulation and high performance windows and doors. In winter the concentration of pollutants in the indoor environment tends to increase, and it has been demonstrated that a number of pollutants are present in greater concentrations in the home than outdoors. This demonstrates how important it is to assess the ecological value of a material throughout its entire life cycle. In the case of porcelain stoneware, scientific studies of this type have demonstrated that the material's chemical and physical properties allow it to be defined as an environmentally compatible material which is in no way harmful to human health.
Why choose an ANAB certified product
Choosing an Anab certified construction material means making a contribution to preserving our natural environment and knowing that you are living in a healthy home. The ecological quality mark guarantees that Eiffelgres products have less environmental impact than other products in the same category which have not been certified, and provides information and scientifically demonstrated indications of their properties. Unlike other ecological certification programmes such as ECOLABEL or EMAS, ANAB consists of a series of very severe, restrictive standards for the requirements and assessment criteria and has absolutely no motivations other than respect for the environment, reinforcing the validity of its creed and the efficacy of its results. Architects and individuals who choose ecologically certified products help promote the respect for the environment which is so essential to sustainable development.
ECO-TILES
Criteria
Raw materials Raw Materials Extraction
EU Eco-Label [Requirements]
- Full compliance of the extraction activity and the environmental recovery with both Directive 92/43/EEC (habitats) and Directive 79/409/EEC (birds), and their subsequent amendments. - In areas outside the European Community, the compliance with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) and knowledge of the national biodiversity strategy and action plans if available. - Visual impact requirements X% 30
ANAB Standard [Requirements]
Quarries within the European Community: - Full compliance of the extraction activity and the environmental recovery with the national and/or local legislation, with the Habitats and Birds Directives and with the laws regarding: - soil protection, water protection, nature conservation, protected areas, landscape protection, worker protection, flora and fauna protection. - If required by the reference legislations the positive evaluation of the environmental impact assessment.
General criteria for raw material
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Quarries outside the European Community: - full compliance of the extraction activity and the environmental recovery with the national and/or local legislation and the reference laws for the environmental and landscape protection - the positive evaluation of the environmental impact assessment. - ISO 14001 certification No addition to the raw materials of any - The proportion of natural raw material must be at least 85% substance or preparation that is assigned any (in weight). of the following risk phrases (or any - The addition of the following input materials is not combination thereof): R45, R46, R50, R51, permitted: substances in IARC groups 1, 2A and 2B; R52, R53, R60, R61, according to Directive substances classified Ia and Ib by the WHO; substances or 67/548/EEC and its amendments. This criteria preparations that are assigned or may be assigned any of the does not apply to the quota of closed-loop following risk phrases (or combinations thereof) may be recycled materials used by the process. added to the raw materials: R26, R27, R28, R39, R45, R46, Limited content of heavy metals and their R48, R49, R60, R61, R50, R51, R52, R53, R58, R59. compounds in additives (% in weight of the - Limited content of substances and preparations that are glazes): Pb 0.5 Cd 0.1 Sb 0.25. assigned or may be assigned any of the following risk No asbestos present in the raw materials. phrases (or combinations thereof): R40, R62, R63 (% in weight: 0,5%) Polyester resins 10% of the total weight of raw materials (Not applicabile to the ceramic - Synthetic auxiliaries shall be 0,5% of the total weight of raw materials. tiles)
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Criteria
Manufacturing Water use process Emissions to water
EU Eco-Label [Requirements]
