Useful Links

France

BTP ENVIRONNEMENT : www.nordpdc.ffbatiment.fr, click the link déchets BTP  (in French)
The goal of this site is to provide to both members of the BTP and to the wider community, a tool to manage waste from construction sites through the network of BTP waste management centres in France.

By providing details of the location and waste to be processed, you can search for the nearest BTP centre including contact information, opening hours, location maps and often the costs for waste management.

BTP Environnement also publish their entire range of technical papers on this site.

INNOVATHEQUE : www.innovathequectba.com
 
Developed by CTBA and VIA, Innovathèque is a design resource centre for innovative materials.

A centre for communication and information exchange, Interior Designers use Innovathèque resources to research materials published by manufacturers and suppliers wishing to publicise their innovative products.

Innovathèque provides research information on materials from a broad range of sectors coupled with a materials repository containing thousands of samples for hands-on examination and, finally, an online materials database.

Furthermore, Innovathèque further promotes innovation through:

• A range of events on key industry themes
• Their quarterly electronic journal, “La Lettre d’Innovation” detailing new products and innovations
• Materials Information Sheets on the most innovative products

BATIPRODUITS : www.batiproduits.com

Batiproduits is France’s leading website for information on construction materials and products. 

Batiproduits provides a database of:
•  30,000 products – simple search tools allow you to quickly locate the product you need
• 2,000 manufacturers – searchable by name or sector

The Eco-Materials database was featured in the Batiproduits Newsletter April 2006 http://prod.batiproduits.com/news_letter/S14_2006/newsletter.htm

Recycled Products and Materials : www.produitsrecycles.com

 “Make recycled products your first choice!”

Eco-directory site published by a leading French waste management organisation detailing products  from a variety of sectors, (including construction and ) made from recycled materials.

United Kingdom

GreenSpec : www.greenspec.co.uk

Published by the National Green Specification (NGS), GreenSpec is an online repository of information on all types of Eco-Materials and Techniques useful to both professionals in the construction industry and private individuals.

GreenSpec can be considered as the key online resource for those seeking compliance with the BREEAM standard (BRE Environmental Assessment Methodology, www.breeam.org), the UK’s environmental quality standard for Construction.

USA/Australia
Ecospecifier : www.ecospecifier.org

Ecospecifier is an Australian-based private organisation whose goal is to identify environmentally preferable building products and materials through a process of lifecycle analysis.

For those seeking compliance with the LEED standards (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the US based Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org), ecospecifier is a leading online resource.

Belgium

VIBE : www.vibe.be
 
VIBE, literally “Vlaams Instituut voor Bio-Ecologish Bouwen en Wonen” (Flemish Institute for Ecological Building and Housing) is an online resource for sustainable building in Flanders.

VIBE consider that sustainable construction is a global project in which the key elements are:

• Utilisation of space
• Materials
• Energy
• Water

The environment and health impacts of each of these elements being key to creating truly sustainable buildings.

Based in Anvers, VIBE makes its quality award to architects, research institutions, builders and suppliers in addition to manufacturers of Eco-Materials who are furthering the goals of sustainable construction.

Key to receiving recognition from VIBE is to achieve certification from NaturePlus www.natureplus.org.

From the VIBE homepage, click the “WAAR” (Where) link to access the directory of suppliers and services along with product and material information.

Netherlands

VIBA Expo : www.viba-expo.nl
 
VIBA Expo is a leading european site for reference and demonstration information on Eco-Materials and Techniques.  Materials and products published on the site are analysed by NIBE (see next entry), the Netherlands Eco-Construction Research Institute using GreenCalc and through the “Twin Model” of qualitative and quantitative analysis of construction materials.

NIBE : www.nibe.org 
The NIBE Institute, (Nederlands Instituut voor Bouwbiologie en Ecologie) is a research organisation specialising in eco-construction methods, which provides consultancy to the eco-construction sector as a whole.

NIBE also provides an evaluation of construction products and materials using the Twin Model of Lifecycle Analysis, based on the methodology devised by Dr Michiel Haas in his doctoral thesis in 1997.  NIBE use the highly cost effective “Nature Plus” evaluation technique already in use in 10 European Countries. (For further information, view the Nature Plus entry under Germany.)

Materials Explorer - www.materialexplorer.com
Material Explorer is an online research tool designed to provide information on leading-edge architectural and construction materials, particularly at the conception and design stages of a building project.

This tool is the result of a project by design student Arnold Van Bezooyen while studying for a Masters Degree at the University of Delft in the Netherlands in 2001.  To know more about the origins of this project, visit www.vanbezooyen.com/materialexplorer/.

Germany

Nature Plus : www.natureplus.org
 
NaturePlus is the European quality mark for environmentally sound construction materials and products.  Currently (March 2006) Nature Plus accredit approximately 150 products from 10 different European countries.

NaturePlus is aimed at consumers, architects and construction firms, offering a simple and reliable aid to purchasing and planning decisions. It provides manufacturers and sellers with the opportunity to make their mark with environmentally and health-conscious customers.