Why Specify Certified Stone?

Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.

Sustainability Drivers in the Marketplace

More than ever before, sustainability is on the forefront of top minds in the building industry – from architects to owners to product manufacturers

LEED Silver: George A. PurefoyMunicipal Center

As such, material certification is becoming more important every year to reassure educated consumers that best practices are being followed.

Denver Union Station

© Ryan Dravitz Photography

The stone industry has recently adopted a 3rd party verified standard for natural dimension stone quarriers and processors.

There are 4 levels of Sustainable Product Achievement Certification for Quarriers and Processors:

The goal of the standard was to establish a set of well defined environmental, ecological, social responsibility and human health metrics

The certification also includes a companion Chain of Custody standard that serves as an important aspect of the certification. It traces the stones as they travel from the quarry to processing and through the supply chain and ultimately to their journey’s end.

YIELD

It also encourages quarriers and processors to utilize as much of the stone as they can to eliminate excess process material.

The recent announcement of NSC 373 has design professionals wondering how the new standard will align with LEED v4 and the Living Building Challenge.

Transformation of material selection

NSC 373 can be aligned within the Material and Resources section of LEED v4 in Building Product Disclosure and Optimization or Responsible Industry within the Material Petal of Living Building Challenge.

LEED v4 recently adopted Living Future's Declare Label

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This is Phase I of Coldspring’s certification, and we continue to certify active processing and quarrying sites.

Complete detailed information about the Sustainability Standard and NSC 373 is available at www.coldspringusa.com, or contact your Regional Sales Manager at 800.328.5040.

The course: “Why Specify Certified Stone: How the Natural Dimension Stone Sustainability Standard can Assist Green Building Projects” is available for CEU credits through GBCI, AIA and ASLA.