Greenwash Alert: "LEED Certified Products"
We recently saw a claim on the website of a local countertop fabricator that all their countertops were "LEED certified". This is incorrect: there is no such thing as LEED certification for products.
People can be LEED certified, and building projects can achieve various levels of LEED certification. But each product is evaluated based on its contribution to the total building project. Depending on how much of a product is used in the project, its recycled or local content may or may not be sufficient to help the project obtain the desired level of certification. It is up to the LEED-certified professional consultant to make that evaluation.
There are several organizations that offer "green" certifications. All these organizations are private, for-profit corporations, and they charge tens of thousands of dollars for each certification. We have seen certificates issued to solid-surface manufacturers for having 6% recycled content in their products, and to a furniture manufacturer for making a metal cabinet with "space-saving design and paint that doesn't offgas". If we had set the bar that low for our material, we'd be tempted to get a certificate also, to compensate for the lack of any actual effort to make an environmentally responsible product. But at 89% recycled content and rising, we don't need an expensive piece of paper to tell us we're doing a good job.
Ontario’s greenest concrete
Without reservations, we now can claim to make the greenest concrete in this province. Our main recycled ingredient is crushed glass from all the broken bottles that are collected in blue boxes but are rejected by glass recycling plants. This is a post-consumer product that would otherwise be landfilled, so it has the highest possible environmental rating. And it’s local to southern Ontario.
Our proprietary cement is now 80% recycled and 80% local to Ontario. But instead of being a compromise between strength and environmental footprint, it makes stronger, more durable concrete than ordinary Portland cement. Now our concrete is 89% recycled and local to Ontario – the most LEED-friendly material available.
Cabinetry Alert
We had a very unfortunate experience with custom cabinetry that was almost worthy of a Mike Holmes intervention. We had never encountered new cabinets that gave us cause for concern, because they were all put together with screws and ridged dowels. These, however, were barely held together using nothing but 1-1/2", 18 gauge brad nails. When we attempted to put our countertop on them (with a cast sink), the cabinets simply came apart, and the homeowner was devastated.
When selecting cabinets, please ensure that your cabinet maker will use proper fasteners. Brad nails are only a 'third hand' - they hold pieces together until the pieces can be fastened more securely. We cannot accept any responsibility for improperly constructed cabinets, so please choose them carefully. If you are looking to save money, IKEA cabinets are a good option.
Designer’s Walk
We have a booth in Building 3 of Designer’s Walk, 168 Bedford Road, in the Sustainable Products section. Designer’s Walk buildings are downtown Toronto, in the Avenue Road/Davenport area, and they are open from 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday.
While Designer’s Walk is geared to those who work in the design/construction trade, anyone can walk through and see the displays. The resource centre staff are friendly and very knowledgeable, and there is a wealth of information on all the products on display. Please check www.designerswalk.com for a schedule of special events and seminars.
This booth will act as our remote showroom at least until our showroom is built and set up.
Our friends and colleagues
We are part of a vast network of concrete countertop professionals who are striving to create innovative products from ever-improving concrete. Here are some links to the websites of our most respected associates. Their work shows a great variety of styles and really showcases concrete as an artistic material. Some, like Glasscrete Studios, for example, have created such unique looks that their work is immediately recognized. Others have entered this field recently and are still developing their styles and techniques, but all have a passion for this incredibly versatile material.
www.barrettdeezal.com
www.threshold-design.net
www.twooceanconcretestudio.com
www.concretedetail.com
www.endlessconcretedesign.com
www.plasmastone.com
www.glasscretestudios.com
www.gbcountertops.com
www.h2concretedesign.com
www.rmdesigninc.com
www.incretetech.com
www.concretewavedesign.com
www.concretexpressions.com
www.castingimpressions.net
www.jmcgregordesigns.com
www.urbanconcretedesign.com
www.hardrock-concrete.com
