EPA unveils new waste and materials tracking feature
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has unveiled a waste and materials tracking feature in its Energy Star Portfolio Manager, which is a free benchmarking and tracking tool for commercial building owners and managers. EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager already is used to measure energy, water and greenhouse gas metrics in more than 450,000 U.S. buildings, representing more than 40 percent of U.S. commercial space, as well as in more than 10,000 buildings in Canada.
Now owners and managers using Portfolio Manager will be able to benchmark 29 types of material across four different management metrics alongside their existing sustainability management indicators. Types of materials include building materials, glass, paper, plastics and trash.
The addition of waste tracking is the culmination of a year-long collaboration between EPA’s Energy Star, sustainable materials management programs and members of the industry to identify key performance metrics for waste and materials management.
Armstrong Ceiling Solutions names Blue Goblin a certified C&D processor
Armstrong Ceiling Solutions, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has named Blue Goblin of Atlanta an Armstrong-certified construction and demolition (C&D) processor.
As an Armstrong C&D processor, Blue Goblin will collect used ceiling panels that have been removed from commercial construction, renovation and demolition sites throughout the Atlanta area. The company will then process the ceilings and prepare them for shipment to an Armstrong plant where they will be used in the manufacture of new ceilings in a closed-loop process. Armstrong designates new panels made with high levels of recycled ceilings as Ceiling-2-Ceiling panels.
As a certified C&D processor, Blue Goblin is now part of the Armstrong Ceiling Recycling Program, which enables commercial building owners and contractors to send used ceilings from renovation and demolition projects to the nearest Armstrong ceiling plant as an alternative to landfill disposal. Ceiling recycling also can help building owners and contractors save on container costs and landfill fees and contribute to the new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) v4 credits.
Explore the September 2016 Issue
Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.
