The changes address issues such as water, site management, land reclamation, as well as corporate governance, among others
The Natural Stone Sustainability Standard (ANSI/NSC 373) has been updated, the Natural Stone Council (NSC) announced. The standard is meant to keep emissions during processing and quarrying as well as distances for transportation or duration of storage to a minimum and to ensure that working conditions expose miners and masons to minimum of health and safety risks, among other criteria. It was first issued in 2014 and establishes criteria and methods for tracking, measuring and improving sustainability in the production of natural stone, long regarded for its durability and resiliency.
„As the building and design market continues to demand greener and more sustainably produced materials, green building programs evolve to meet the rising needs,” says Duke Pointer, Executive Director of the NSC. „Updates to the natural stone certification reflect the stone industry’s commitment to aligning with evolving green building programs.”
The updates published in August 2019 address a broad scope of issues including water, site management, land reclamation, and adaptive use, corporate governance, management of excess process materials, and innovation.
The updates also address a wider range in variability of operations, natural stone dimensional deposits, and regulatory requirements across the country.
The ANSI/NSC 373 joint committee, comprised of members from a cross-section of stakeholders within and outside of the stone industry, worked to update the standard with input from task groups. Along with the updates, the committee has reenergized its efforts to educate the design community about using the standard.
„The heart of ANSI/NSC 373 Sustainable Production of Natural Dimension Stone is continuous improvement,” says Kathy Spanier, Marketing Director of Coldspring and Chair of the NSC’s Sustainability Committee. „With the standard being in the market for about five years, we took feedback from certified companies as well as input from key green building programs to make necessary updates and ensure relevance.”
The standard aligns with materials and resource credits for LEED v.4 and Living Building Challenge projects. It applies to all processors of natural stone, from quarry operators to final stone fabricators.
To access the standard and find a full list of certified stones and how to source them, visit www.naturalstonecouncil.org/sustainability.
The Natural Stone Council is a collaboration of stone trade associations to promote the use of marble, granite etc in commercial, residential, government, institutional, educational, and all types of applications interior and exterior. It was founded in 2003 as a not-for-profit organization to unite a diverse industry of natural stone producers and to actively promote natural stone.
Source: Natural Stone Council
(22.09.2019, USA: 09.22.2019)