The Fire Industry Association (FIA) has called for those with an interest in setting the agenda for sustainable fire safety to register their interest in joining the first cohort of its recently launched Sustainability Special Interest Group (SIG)
Announced in early January, the first meeting of this SIG will take place on Friday 20 February with the goal of providing a “dedicated forum for members to collaborate on practical, proportionate, and credible approaches to sustainability” in the face of changing regulatory and market expectations.
Fire safety plays a critical role in the sustainability agenda, with the FIA statement explaining that “around 37% of UK carbon emissions and nearly half of all material resource use” comes from the built environment sector. Product choices, system design, construction methods, and whole-life building performance are all impacted by fire safety considerations.
The aim of the SIG is to “bring together manufacturers, service providers, and sustainability specialists to address both environmental and social aspects of sustainability” to help “move beyond compliance towards best practice”. The group will develop and share practical guidance, real-world case studies, and tools, with the focus being given to the following areas:
- Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs)
- embodied carbon and Net Zero pathways
- circular economy principles and product lifecycles
- Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting and practical tools
- social sustainability topics such as diversity and inclusion, wellbeing, and community impact.
In their the statement, the FIA explained that the SIG will assist members through the changing regulatory sustainability landscape, and by “working together, the FIA Sustainability SIG aims to support a fire safety sector that not only protects lives and property, but also contributes positively to a safer, lower-carbon and more socially responsible built environment.”
