How to Choose Sustainable Materials for Your New Home Build

More than ever before, sustainable building is available to us thanks to the many sustainable building materials on the market.

From straw bale, hempcrete and rammed earth, to geopolymer concrete, bamboo, cork, stone, timber and structural insulated panels (SIPs) just to name a few, the list is enormous!

But how sustainable are they?

And what does it mean for a particular building material to be sustainable.

Let’s explore the world of sustainable building materials, so that you can make truly sustainable choices when renovating or building your new home.

What makes a building material sustainable?

When it comes to choosing sustainable building materials, it’s important to understand that sustainability is more than just how the product is made.

How sustainable a building material is will depend on things like - 

• How much energy is used to get the materials (both when it’s initially sourced, through to material transport to the workshop or building site)

  
  

• Whether there are any undesirable toxic by-products created through its manufacture or use

  
  

• Whether additional materials are required to make it fit-for-purpose and how sustainable those materials are

  
  

• How much energy is used to process, manufacture or install the materials and

  
  

• Whether there are any positive benefits from using the material.

The Sustainability Life-Cycle

How sustainable a particular material is, depends on how it performs across its whole life cycle - from how it’s created, through to its maintenance and behaviour during use, and its end-of-use state.


Phase #1 | Creation

Building materials go through three stages of creation prior to becoming a complete part of your home.

These stages are - 

Sourcing Raw Materials

This is how the product starts out, before it reaches its useable state. Some materials require more raw materials than others.

Creation of the Building Materials

This is where the raw materials are turned into the building material itself, so that it’s able to be used for the purpose you want to use it for

Installation

Once it’s created, the building material has to be installed. And this creates a whole other layer of questions around sustainability.


Phase #2 | Maintenance

How sustainable a product is will also depend on how it needs to be maintained throughout its life.


Phase #3 | End-of-life

For a building material to be truly sustainable, you need to think about what will happen to it when it’s no longer in use. Where will it go, how will you dispose of it, and will it be safe to do so.

If you want your building materials to be truly sustainable, then you need to consider sustainability at each phase - not just how the material is sourced or created.

6 Questions to Ask About Sustainable Building Materials

When you’re working out whether a building material is sustainable, there are six key questions you need to ask.

1. Where does it come from?

Where you source a particular building material from will impact how sustainable it is.

Locally made is obviously a plus, as the material doesn’t have to travel as far, reducing transport-related carbon emissions.


2. How is it made?

It’s rare that a building material is used in its raw, unaltered state.

Many building materials require other components to be added during their manufacture, or installation, in order to become a complete item you can use in your home build.

How is your chosen material made? How much energy does it take to make? Is it created in the most sustainable way? Does it require other materials to be finished (like lacquer or painting)? And does it create additional waste during manufacture or installation?


3. Is it toxic?

Toxicity is an important factor in choosing sustainable materials for your home build.

And I’m not just talking about during manufacture. Although recycling is a sustainable way of dealing with materials at the end of life, the process of recycling plastics can do more harm than good.

Check whether harmful gases are emitted during manufacture, installation or end-of-life. You should also consider what paints, varnishes, sealers and adhesives need to be used, and avoid materials, material treatments, cleaning products and fabrics that contain formaldehyde.

Many building elements like pipes, flooring, window frames and furniture use PVC, which is the most damaging of all plastics due to the toxicity released not only during manufacture but throughout its life cycle. Consider looking into the Greenpeace alternatives database for more information.

4. How long will it last?

An overlooked element of sustainability is how long a material will last once it’s installed.

Is it durable? Will it stand up to the environment you live in? How often will it need to be maintained, and what will it need to be maintained with, in order to achieve the maximum life of the material?


5. What happens at end of life?

Nothing lasts forever. What will happen to the material at the end of its life?

Can it be recycled or turned into something new? And what impact will that have on the environment.

6. What’s the carbon impact?

A key consideration when it comes to sustainability is the carbon impact of a building material.

Are your choices a carbon sink (absorbing more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases) or a carbon source (releases more carbon into the atmosphere than it absorbs).

The more carbon sink you can create in your home build, the better that is for sustainability.

Want to make your home build or renovation project sustainable?

Make sure you understand the life-cycle of each material you choose to build your home, remembering that how it’s installed, maintained and disposed of are all important sustainability considerations.

Asking the right questions from the very start is the best way to ensure you’re making your new home build or renovation project as sustainable as possible.

Speak to your architect early in the process so sustainability can be a focus during your build.