British Gypsum has become the first plasterboard partition system manufacturer to achieve a BES 6001 ‘Very Good’ rating for its metal profiles, extending its responsibly sourced product offering.
The certification for Gypframe comes 18 months after the company became the first UK plastering and drylining manufacturer to be awarded a BES 6001 ‘Very Good’ rating for a core range of its gypsum-based products.
It means the company can now offer certification for the vast majority of its constituent components in its GypWall systems, consisting of metal framing, plasterboard and plaster, with a ‘Very Good’ standard.
The certification, which now applies to all British Gypsum UK-manufactured Gyproc plasterboard, Glasroc specialist boards, Thistle plasters, Gyproc cove and Gypframe metal profiles, will enable customers to receive more points and credits for these products as part of BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method for buildings) and the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH).
BES 6001 is an independent audited standard from Building Research Establishment (BRE) which assesses the responsible sourcing of construction products within an organisation’s supply chain. Created in response to increasing focus on sustainable development by Government and industry, the certification programme makes it easier for specifiers, contractors, housebuilders and their clients to prove and measure the environmental performance of a building whilst meeting assessment and design standards.
“Sustainability is a priority for almost every building project and as such, construction professionals are under pressure to demonstrate sustainable practices and procurement,” said Paul Campbell, Commercial Marketing Manager at British Gypsum. “Manufacturers have a key role to play in supporting customers by making it as simple and as cost effective as possible to achieve the required standards.
“When we achieved the BES 6001 ‘Very Good’ rating in 2012, it meant a core range of our products became Tier Three for BREEAM 2011, as opposed to Tier Six in the past, and Tier One for the Code for Sustainable Homes, making it easier for customers to achieve a higher number of credits at no additional cost.
"Since then, we’ve been working hard to gain the same certification for our Gypframe products, we can now offer a system solution for our customers with the majority of the component parts proven to be responsibly sourced.”