The sustainability

movement is seemingly end-

less – as it should be. Sus-

tainable living is part of a journey. All

too often, the completion of a building

or initiative is seen as a destination.

The achievement of a LEED Certifica-

tion or other designation should not

be the coronation of your efforts.

Instead, this is just one more step on your path

to a more sustainable, environmentally conscious future.

American biologist Barry Commoner was

decades ahead of the sustainability movement when

he published “The Closing Circle” (1971), which

included his “Four Laws of Ecology.” Within these

profound principles he wrote: “Nature knows best.

Humankind has fashioned technology to improve

upon nature, but such change in a natural system is

likely to be detrimental to that system.”

Nature knows best

Mountain Valley Quartzitic Sandstone. Photo courtesy of Delta Stone Products.

How the use of natural stone can

help you achieve your sustainability goals.

By Michael Schumacher

140 COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — SEPTEMBER : OCTOBER 2016

NATURE

KNOWS BEST

We have made great strides to improve our quality of life along with the state of our

environment. In our pursuit of a more sustainable future, we have forgotten about some of

the most fundamental and time-proven materials. As one of civilization’s primary building

products, natural stone has proven its sustainable attributes for thousands of years. We see

evidence of its long-term durability and performance in structures around the world.

It would be easy to think that a natural product like stone would be considered a sustain-

able building product. In today’s market, this time-proven staple of building and construction has

to fight for its own voice to be heard. One of the largest forces behind natural stone’s challenge

of market share is the increasing use of the word “stone” to market man-made, engineered

products that actually are not stone, but products that imitate natural stone.

Because of their manufacturing process and contents, these products have a substantially

higher Embodied Energy Coefficient. This speaks to the sum of all the energy that goes into the

manufacture of a product. Comparative to other building materials commonly used today, nat-

ural stone has one of the lowest Embodied Energy Coefficients. This is an often overlooked, yet

extremely important attribute of any product

that is to be considered sustainable.

One of the biggest challenges facing

the specifying community and their clients

today is selecting products and methods

that truly align with green/sustainable

practices. From a product standpoint, nearly

every manufacturer has its own collection

of pediments on which it builds its green

marketing campaigns.

Since the appeal is in how you tell your

story, the most credence is given to those

companies and products that have gone

through a third-party verification process.

As part of the natural stone indus-

try’s commitment to the green building

movement, the Natural Stone Council

(NSC), a collaboration of stone business-

es and trade associations, has worked

closely with the National Center for Sus-

tainability Standards, NSF International,

to develop a new standard known as

ANSI/NSC 373: Sustainable Production of

Natural Dimension Stone and NSC Chain

of Custody Standard.

The completed standard operates on a

very similar platform to the LEED Certifica-

tion process, the Green Label (carpets and

adhesives), and Forest Stewardship Council

(wood products). NSC 373 offers certifi-

cations for quarriers as well as fabricators

within this standard. This helps to establish

Cradle to Cradle reporting, which generates

a Life Cycle Assessment.

In addition, the standard also evaluates

Cradle to Gate, which speaks to a product’s

social, economic and environmental impact

as it moves from quarry to the project site.

Certifications are based upon a quarrier and/

or fabricator’s performance and metrics for

improvement in the following categories:

• Water

• Transportation and chain of custody

• Site management

• Land reclamation

• Corporate governance

• Energy

• Management of excess process

material and waste

• Safer chemical and

materials management

• Human health and safety

• Innovation

Kenoran Sage and Cold Spring Black granite paving; Baltic Brown granite cladding. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Carrie Photography.

Agate, Carnelian, and Mesabi Black granite paving. Carnelian granite benches. Photo courtesy of Steve Maylone Photography.

142 COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — SEPTEMBER : OCTOBER 2016

NATURE

KNOWS BEST

Michel Schumacher has completed degrees in business and construction, and is a past recipient of the

MIA Natural Stone Scholarship Award. In addition to serving as marketing and sales specialist for Michels Corp.,

he also is a crew leadership instructor for the Associated Builders & Contractors of Wisconsin.

Similar to the LEED rating system, there

is a combination of required and optional

credits. An organization’s pursuit of elective,

enhanced or innovation performance credits

are what determine their level of certification

– Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum.

The new certification tracts that are

available in LEED v4 speak to the U.S. Green

Building Council’s commitment to the use of

sustainable practices in the design com-

munity. Two primary certification programs

related to the commercial market are LEED

Building Design and Construction (BD+C)

and LEED Interior Design and Construction.

These certifications concentrate specifically

on new construction or major renovations

of schools, retail, hospitality, data centers,

warehouses and distribution centers, and healthcare facilities.

LEED Operations and Maintenance (O+M) focuses on enhanc-

ing the performance of existing buildings. It can take up to 80 years

to make up for the environmental impact of raising a structure and

building a new one. Many of today’s efficiencies can be achieved

through the incorporation of new technology and the use of more

sustainable materials.

The majority of the architectural community has been using

LEED v4 as the basis of their designs. They will be looking to

use products that align with the new prerequisites and credits.

The addition of the NSC 373 certification process works to affirm

natural stone’s place within the sustainable

building market.

In an effort to help the specifying

community gain a better understanding of

natural stone’s role in today’s sustainable

building market, MIA+BSI has developed

an online course explaining NSC 373. This

session has been recognized by the AIA,

LACES, IDCEC (ASID, IIDA, and IDC) for

continuing education credit. Knowledge

obtained from the course can be self-re-

ported to the GBCI and LFA to obtain LEED

credential maintenance credits.

MIA+BSI provide resources for the

specifying communities on the use and in-

stallation of natural stone. Visit the Use Nat-

ural Stone website (www.usenaturalstone.

com) and add the NSC 373 course to your ongoing education efforts

(www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/sustainabilityceu).

The journey to a better, healthier and more sustainable future

can be confusing. The natural stone industry has paved the way to a

greater understanding of how everyone can work together to achieve

our common goal of a better tomorrow. Be cautious of “Green Wash-

ing” in the marketplace, and look closely at what you are selecting.

In considering all the products on the market, one cannot help

but consider the true durability, versatility and sheer brilliance that is

found within natural stone.

Dr. Commoner was right, "Nature really does know best." CCR

The natural stone industry has paved the

way to a greater understanding

of how everyone can work together

to achieve our common goal of a better tomorrow.

Mountain Valley Quartzitic Sandstone. Photo courtesy of Delta Stone Products.

144 COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — SEPTEMBER : OCTOBER 2016