Monday, 16 March 2015
Project Certification Film Coming Soon
5 Broadgate in central London will feature in a new short film describing project certification and the importance of sustainable timber in construction.
Over the last few months we’ve been working with building contractor MACE and client British Land to produce a film about project certification, focusing on their latest building at 5 Broadgate. The building, an impressive glass and metal fronted office block for trader UBS, used 1200 metres cubed of wood in the construction, divided between wood forming part of the permanent building and wood used for packaging and protection.
The FSC standard for project certification, which has been used to certify all sorts of builds from film sets to homes to skyscrapers, only specifies that 50% of the wood used has to be FSC certified. Many contractors however have managed to exceed this level and for 5 Broadgate, British Land contracted MACE to achieve 100% FSC certification for wood.
The film will aim to show that 5 Broadgate is a great example that the sky’s the limit when it comes to project certification. If a large city block in central London can use 100% sustainable timber, there really is no excuse for any other building elsewhere. Representatives from British Land and MACE are in the film, as well as FSC UK’s Executive Director, Rosie Teasdale.
The main aim for the film is to appeal to everyone involved in the construction industry to use sustainable timber in their builds, but it is also important for members of the public to know about project certification. Someone about to buy a newly built home or looking to move their office to a new block should be concerned about where the materials have come from and what wood was used in the construction process that isn’t in the final building.
There are many ways that companies can get involved in project certification. If you want to supply materials to sites then you will beed to have FSC chain of custody certification. It is equally important for architects and clients to contractually oblige contractors to schieve FSC project status and for contractors to specify FSC to their suppliers. If you have suppliers that have not dealt in FSC certification before and need help through the process, then FSC UK can provide training. Some contractors such as MACE have also run training for suppliers, and FSC certification bodies give companies advice and guidance through the process.
The Certification Body responsible for confirming that all wood supplied was indeed FSC certified was BM TRADA, who commented: “BM TRADA specialises in certifying high profile FSC Projects in the construction sector and have been delighted to work with Mace on the 5 Broadgate Project since the beginning. It is very exciting to see it coming up to completion and we look forward to awarding certification for this very prestigious build. For more information on FSC Project Chain of Custody Certification go to FSC Project Certification from BM TRADA.”
I hope you’re as excited about the film as we are! If you are interested in hosting it on your website as a certified company then please do get in contact.
