ENVIRONMENT
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PAM Building, A KEY PLAYER IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
More than a third of the world’s gas emissions and resource consumption can be linked to construction and the construction industry. This is in a context where the population is set to double in the next 30 years.
It is therefore necessary to significantly reduce the resource intensity of our buildings, if we want this growth to be compatible with the planet. This implies acting voluntarily both when buildings are designed and at the end of their life to ensure the waste is properly reused or recycled, and also throughout the entire life of buildings to maximise their use. Sustainable construction is a major worldwide trend.
The preservation of natural resources is a major societal challenge, especially for the construction sector, which is a major consumer of raw materials and energy. Saint-Gobain PAM evacuation systems are a responsible and sustainable choice, respectful of natural resources and people.
PAM Building, A KEY PLAYER IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
More than a third of the world’s gas emissions and resource consumption can be linked to construction and the construction industry. This is in a context where the population is set to double in the next 30 years.
It is therefore necessary to significantly reduce the resource intensity of our buildings, if we want this growth to be compatible with the planet. This implies acting voluntarily both when buildings are designed and at the end of their life to ensure the waste is properly reused or recycled, and also throughout the entire life of buildings to maximise their use. Sustainable construction is a major worldwide trend.
The preservation of natural resources is a major societal challenge, especially for the construction sector, which is a major consumer of raw materials and energy. Saint-Gobain PAM evacuation systems are a responsible and sustainable choice, respectful of natural resources and people.
PAM Building's achievements
As part of Saint-Gobain we have implemented all key elements of the group's strategy within our business. Thanks to the strategic choices and investments within our Bayard and Telford plants we have already made great progress.
Focus on water: recent renovation of our water recovery basin in Bayard’s plant.
It is a substantial but environmentally beneficial project, which was completed in 2020 at the Bayard site. The works included the waterproofing of both the lagoons and water recovery basins. Once the waterproofing of the basins was complete, a pipe was installed to send the water from the lagoons to the pump room supplying the casting machines. Finally, the last stage consisted of evacuating the soil to an approved center. The benefits of this work are twofold: it considerably reduces the site's water consumption (we aim to halve the water consumption thanks to this), and it also guarantees the preservation of our environment and the quality of the water tables. They are in line with the sustainable development actions already carried out by our team at Bayard.
Focus on CO2 : the choice of a 100% renewable power sourcing.
Our plant in Telford made the choice to contract with the supplier SmartestEnergy in 2015, procuring us 100% renewable electricity for our electric furnace.
A cast iron pipe gives our waste a second life
In order to contribute to the preservation of natural resources, PAM Building’s molten iron is produced by recycling cast iron and ferrous products. Unlike plastics, it can be completely and systematically recycled at the end of its life. PAM Building’s drainage solutions can be recycled without any deterioration of their properties.
The product’s life cycle is also first-class in terms of environmentally-friendly logistics, long-lasting functionality (up to 70 years without compromising the mechanical properties), low maintenance costs and commercially beneficial recycling.
100% recyclable indefinitely without losing any of its properties and made from recycled content*
For the standard S range, recycled content is 99% with 11.5% pre-consumer** & 87.5% post-consumer*** according to ISO 14021: 1999.
Nothing is wasted: everything is recycled
Cast iron pipe systems are based on the principle of modular ranges of removable components. Their mechanical assemblies are reversible.
You can change your mind today or even tomorrow. When pipe systems are disassembled or modified, these components can be reused, which cuts down on waste dumping.
*Recycled content: proportion, by mass, of recycled material in a product or packaging. Only pre-consumer and post-consumer materials shall be considered recycled content.
** Pre-consumer material: material diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process. This excludes the reuse of materials such as rework, regrind, or scrap generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process that generated it.
*** Post-consumer material: material generated by households or commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end users of the product which can no longer be used for its intended purpose.
100% recyclable indefinitely without losing any of its properties and made from recycled content*
For the standard S range, recycled content is 99% with 11.5% pre-consumer** & 87.5% post-consumer*** according to ISO 14021: 1999.
Nothing is wasted: everything is recycled
Cast iron pipe systems are based on the principle of modular ranges of removable components. Their mechanical assemblies are reversible.
You can change your mind today or even tomorrow. When pipe systems are disassembled or modified, these components can be reused, which cuts down on waste dumping.
*Recycled content: proportion, by mass, of recycled material in a product or packaging. Only pre-consumer and post-consumer materials shall be considered recycled content.
** Pre-consumer material: material diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process. This excludes the reuse of materials such as rework, regrind, or scrap generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process that generated it.
*** Post-consumer material: material generated by households or commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end users of the product which can no longer be used for its intended purpose.
Organised and numerous actors in the recycling channel
The recycling channel exists: collector network and recovery stream is existing and working!
We work with local supply for scrap (<125 km from the plant) to reduced economic and transport costs.
Following ISO 14021:1999 and LEED V4 criteria we can provide a recycled content declaration for our products
Organised and numerous actors in the recycling channel
The recycling channel exists: collector network and recovery stream is existing and working!
We work with local supply for scrap (<125 km from the plant) to reduced economic and transport costs.
Following ISO 14021:1999 and LEED V4 criteria we can provide a recycled content declaration for our products
Life Cycle Assessment
Life Cycle Assessment: a rigorous tool for assessing the environmental impacts of our products
Understanding the environmental performances of construction products is a growing expectation for professionals in the building chain.
In PAM Building, we strongly believe that Life Cycle Assessment is the most reliable tool available to assess the green credentials of construction products and enables companies to communicate credible, fact-based information about their products to consumers. It is also a powerful tool for enhancing the environmental features of our products. LCA is a methodology based on specifi c standards ISO 14040 and ISO 14044:
- Multi-criteria tool: consumption of natural resources, air, ground and water emissions, waste generation, warming potential, …
- Multi-step tool: “cradle to gate” or “cradle to grave”.
Life Cycle Assessment
Life Cycle Assessment: a rigorous tool for assessing the environmental impacts of our products
Understanding the environmental performances of construction products is a growing expectation for professionals in the building chain.
In PAM Building, we strongly believe that Life Cycle Assessment is the most reliable tool available to assess the green credentials of construction products and enables companies to communicate credible, fact-based information about their products to consumers. It is also a powerful tool for enhancing the environmental features of our products. LCA is a methodology based on specifi c standards ISO 14040 and ISO 14044:
- Multi-criteria tool: consumption of natural resources, air, ground and water emissions, waste generation, warming potential, …
- Multi-step tool: “cradle to gate” or “cradle to grave”.
Discover how Saint-Gobain PAM's solutions can contribute to the international labels
The product’s life cycle is also first-class in terms of environmentally-friendly logistics, long-lasting functionality (up to 70 years without compromising the mechanical properties), low maintenance costs and worthwhile recycling.
Protecting the environment means understanding our products’ complete life cycle which helps us focus on areas for improvement, so we can significantly reduce our impact on the environment. This is the main route through which we can have a positive impact.
To help customers make a better-informed choice, in 2020 we published an updated Environmental Product Declaration for our Standard & Plus wastewater and rainwater ranges.
In response to a worldwide need for harmonization, international standard ISO 21930 provides the principles and requirements for the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) of building products. This standard uses the complete life cycle of products «from the cradle to the grave” as the relevant analysis.
As the French standard was even more stringent, the decision was made to keep this information model as described in French standard NF P 01-010: an objective analysis of the life cycle “from the cradle to the grave” and energy consumption with reference to a functional unit (FU)* and a lifetime of 70 years.
We routinely adopt Eco-Design and Eco-Innovation principles which extend to including a sustainable and responsible approach to our procurement policies and how we manage, measure and reduce our carbon emissions.
EPD for S range
Please find on the international EPD platform, the updated Environmental Product Declaration for our Standard wastewater and rainwater ranges (SMU S & Global S).
EPD for Plus range
Please find on the international EPD platform, the updated Environmental Product Declaration for our Plus wastewater and rainwater ranges (SMU Plus & Global Plus).
Discover our NEW Sustainability brochure
For more information about sustainability with PAM Building, you can read our new brochure!
You will find explanations about EPDs, PAM’s contributions to the environmental building labels (LEED, BREEAM, etc.), and a focus on circular economy with our rate of recycled content of 99% !