CPD Specifier May 2015 issue September 2015 | Page 9

Front Cover Story

Sustainability
in the
supply chain

With specifiers continuing to look at new
ways to hit sustainability targets both off
and on site, there can be no room for weak
links in the supply chain. Reducing the
carbon footprint of a project and minimising
the overall environmental impact of its
construction activity is a key consideration
for main contractors and as Mark
Wadsworth, Managing Director of leading
fenestration company Senior Architectural
Systems explains, the importance of how
well a manufacturer can assist in this
process shouldn’t be underestimated.
For those of us who operate in the glazing and
fenestration market, we are well versed in the
need to create environmentally considerate
products that offer exceptional performance
and value for money. As all buildings lose some
energy through windows and doors, the need to
develop solutions that work in practice as well
as in theory is essential and with sustainability
playing such a vital role in everything from
procurement to project delivery and even
corporate social responsibility initiatives, it is
vital that suppliers are able to bring tangible
benefits to contract.
A key consideration for many main contractors
is to identify cost-effective ways to improve
the carbon calculations of their projects and
so the products that are specified must stand
up to close scrutiny. Aluminium, which can be
recycled endlessly without any compromise on
quality, is the ideal choice of material for window
systems and when combined with sustainably
sourced timber, which we have done to create
our popular Hybrid range, aluminium can also
offer fantastic design flexibility. However when

it comes to calculating carbon emissions, the
environmental credentials of aluminium are
alone not enough to guarantee specification on
a project. The real test of any window system
and indeed the challenge of any window system
manufacturer is to offer the lowest possible
U-value and increasingly, with ever-changing
regulations, this is becoming a harder target to
hit.
For our part, one way that we have responded
to this need is through the development of
PURe, an aluminium window system that is
the first in the UK to benefit from an enhanced
thermal barrier manufactured from expanded
polyurethane foam (PUR). Traditionally used in
cladding and insulation products, the innovative
use of PUR as a thermal barrier in windows
gives the PURe system the potential to achieve
U-values as low as 0.71w/m2k when calculated
as a commercial CEN standard window.
Part L of the Building Regulations, BREEAM,
Code for Sustainable Homes and Passivhaus
standard all have differing requirements for the
whole window U-values of windows. However,
by achieving U-values that are far lower than
stipulated, the thermal performance of a
building is not only improved but significantly,
major improvements can be made to the
overall carbon footprint. By cutting back on
CO2 emissions through the specification of low
U-value windows, the project team potentially
has the flexibility of looking at making monetary
savings in the overall build cost by reducing
the need for other, often more expensive,
sustainable features such as photovoltaic roof
panels or under floor insulation.

SENIOR ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS

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But it’s not just about how well a product
performs. However, it would be naive to think
that the only objective is to create a product that
simply complies with the current legislation and
building regulations and although aluminium
is without question one of the ‘environmentally
friendly’ materials available, manufacturers
must do more. As well as helping to cut the
operational carbon emissions to a building,
manufacturers must also look at how they
can contribute to reducing the calculations
of embodied carbon by evaluating their
own processes and the energy used in the
manufacture, transportation, assembly and
deconstruction of materials.
For example, in order to offer a truly sustainable
product and to reduce the amount of fuel
used in the manufacturer of PURe, Senior has
invested in an in-house PUR processing line,
a more efficient grey water system to recycle
water used in manufacture and significantly, a
new £150k waste reducing powder coating line
to colour coat the PURe window system. The
powder coating line, the most environmentally
efficient of its kind, saves over 22 tonnes per
year of product being sent to landfill. The system
has also been valued engineered to ensure that
it cab be fabricated using existing tools to save
both energy and costs.
In a market that is saturated with energyefficient solutions, those that can provide
solutions to save both money and the
environment will always have the edge over
the competition and suppliers must be ready to
prove their green credentials not just in terms
of what they make but increasingly, how they
make it.

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