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well as the expected performance levels that they offer,” she said. “We needed a mechanism to rank our products and make it quick and easy for our customers to be able to specify more carbon conscious materials. As a large distributor, we have the relationships with the supply chain, which improves our ability to source and analyse the relevant data and make recommendations. “We hope that others in the industry follow our lead and improve the transparency around these products so that we can work together to reduce construction’s impact on the environment.”
This aspect of increasing wider trade understanding, added Mr Devoil, was being aided with Lathams publishing a “Think You Know Carbon?” guide to provide an overview of the main issues in sustainability, a glossary of key terminologies and steps that architects and specifiers can take to be more sustainable in their designs.
Researchers Campbell Skinner and George Roberts of the BioComposites Centre took a lead in formulating the data tool. “Companies have used eco-labels before, but the approach taken by Lathams is really innovative,” said Mr Skinner. “For the first time that I’m aware, the confidence with which these footprints are presented is rated and placed foremost in the labelling.
“Latham’s customers are being given a clear indication of the transparency with which suppliers are reporting their carbon footprints and this will surely nudge more companies towards independently verified reporting schemes, such as EPDs.”
TARGETED AIMS
James Latham has a number of targets it wants to achieve through the Calculator project, including:
• Create a communications platform with customers and producers/suppliers
• Demonstrate knowledge and awareness of the issue and promote the use of timber in
construction
• To become the recognised supplier of carbon conscious materials
• To provide information to architects, specifiers and designers which will inform
their product choices
• To encourage manufacturers to provide EPDs to raise themselves in the confidence
rating categories.
Increasing dialogue between Lathams and its suppliers is important, said Mr Devoil. “Our goal is to encourage those
manufacturers and suppliers that are currently in categories three and four to move up to categories one and two.”
Above: Accoya modified wood is a good example of a Lathams stocked product with a strong carbon data set
www.ttjonline.com | November/December 2021 | TTJ
Suppliers such as UPM and Accsys
Technologies, which supply Lathams with the products WISA Plywood and Accoya modified wood respectively, already have a significant amount of their own data, which assists in formulating Confidence rating scores. “Suppliers now realise the relevance of carbon to us,” added Mr Devoil. “This has moved almost from a corporate social responsibility topic into a commercial topic.”
With project decision makers now looking at carbon issues, the benefits of being able to calculate and demonstrate carbon in products should be obvious.
One construction innovation company which is embracing the Lathams approach is Kiss House.
“For the industry to seriously address climate change, we need transparency throughout the supply chain and for everyone in the sector to have a proper understanding of the varied environmental impacts that construction has,” said Mike Jacob, director of product and innovation at Kiss House. “The Lathams carbon calculator is especially interesting because it addresses the quality of the data used head on and provides a score for this. We have been trying to understand the true impact of what we do at Kiss House and working with Lathams is a big step towards this and achieving transparency.”
Mr Devoil emphasised that the Carbon Calculator project was focused on carbon and even if some products don’t have top Confidence scores, they still met Lathams’ strict criteria in terms of procurement standards and performance quality. Some products also had great carbon credentials but they weren’t able yet to fully demonstrate it in order to achieve higher ratings.
Factoring in composite products is a harder process as there are different materials involved – such as panel products with ABS edging or phenolic laminations. “That’s coming in phase two, but we wanted to launch with the timber products first,” said Mr Devoil.
The vast majority of Lathams’ timber and wood products are already covered by the Calculator. To promote the initiative, a series of seminars and white board videos are being organised with Lathams’ creating a tree character to narrate a better understanding of carbon, while the company will also make a big splash at FutureBuild in March. Find out more at:
lathamtimber.co.uk/ carbon-calculator-
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
While the Carbon Calculator is a big project for Lathams, there are also other significant developments as the company goes into its 265th year in 2022.
It is developing a digital showroom aimed at the architect and design community. The website features software that is able to depict the detail of grain, textures and light reflection on products, with a mood board function to help designers select products. An extensive digital library of products is expected to be a game changer in terms of the company’s ability to effectively show specifiers its product range.
This links in with a central sampling service which aids quick and simple delivery of samples and the ability to book a live / digital appointment with Lathams representatives. It also has developed a digital sales team headed by Dave Green – group digital sales champion – to exploit the opportunities of digital sales channels. ■
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