Green Star Compliance Package

Green Star Compliance Package

The Lafarge Plasterboard Green Star Compliance Package is a comprehensive publication illustrating how Lafarge Plasterboard meets Green Star requirements.

This package simplifies the specification of Lafarge Plasterboard’s products and systems into green building projects by summarising Green Star points achieved per category and substantiating these points with supporting documentation.

 

The Green Star rating tool and the category sections where this package can apply are listed in the table below.

Green Star rating tool	Materials (MAT)	Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ)	Management (MAN)
Office Interiors v1.1	MAT-3	IEQ-10 & IEQ-11	MAN-6
Office As Built v3		IEQ-12 & IEQ-13	MAN-7
Office Design v3		IEQ-12 & IEQ-13	MAN-7
Education v1		IEQ-7 & IEQ-8	MAN-7
Retail Centre v1		IEQ-7 & IEQ-8	MAN-7
Healthcare pilot	MAT-10	IEQ-12 & IEQ-13	MAN-7
Multi Unit Residential pilot		IEQ-6 & IEQ-7	MAN-7
Office Existing Building extended pilot		IEQ-12 & IEQ-13
Industrial pilot		IEQ-7 & IEQ-8	MAN-7

The application of the products in a system or solution will determine the total number of Green Star credits awarded. Please contact Lafarge Technical Support on 1300 724 505 for more information on the Lafarge Green Star Compliance Package. More information on Green Star can also be found at the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) website.

Sustainable Building Projects completed with Lafarge Plasterboard

• Innovation Place, North Sydney, NSW - 4.5 Star ABGR Rating
• The SkyVue, Sydney, NSW - 4.5 Star ABGR Rating
• 77 King Street, Sydney, NSW - 4.5 Star ABGR Rating
• Justice Precinct, Parramatta, NSW - 5 Star Green Star Rating - more information
• Sydney Water Building, Parramatta, NSW - 5 Star Green Star Rating - more information
• Media House, Melbourne, VIC - 5 Star Green Star Rating
• South Australia Water, Adelaide SA - 6 Star Green Star Rating

 

Lafarge Plasterboard's products are warranted to be free from defects and perform as a wall and ceiling lining for a period of 10 years. For more information click here.

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Plasterboard Life Cycle Assessment

Lafarge Plasterboard has participated in a generic Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for plasterboard in Australia and New Zealand as part of our involvement in the Gypsum Board Manufacturers Association (GBMA). The LCA identifies the environmental impacts of plasterboard throughout the lifecycle - including raw material production, manufacture, distribution, use and disposal. The scope of this lifecycle assessment is often known as a “cradle to grave” assessment.

The purpose of the generic LCA completed by the GBMA is to establish a complete industry assessment to be used as a benchmark for reducing damages caused by the environmental impacts of plasterboard and for comparing with other building materials.

There are six main stages in the life cycle of plasterboard:

• 1. Gypsum Mining
  The gypsum used in Lafarge Plasterboard is sourced from Lake MacDonnell in South Australia. Lake MacDonnell is one of the biggest gypsum deposits in the southern hemisphere with between 500 and 700 million tones of natural gypsum.
• 2. Gypsum Transport
  Once the salt content in mined gypsum has been sufficiently reduced through rainwater leaching, the gypsum is transported by rail to a stockpile and then loaded onto ships to be sent to Lafarge manufacturing plants in Altona, VIC and Matraville, NSW.
• 3. Plaster Mill
  Gypsum rock is transformed into plaster using extreme heat (up to 350 degrees Celsius) in a kettle. This process, called calcining, causes the gypsum to lose 75% of its water and transforms it into stucco or Plaster of Paris. Plaster is then finely ground in a mill.
• 4. Plasterboard Production
  The plaster is combined with water and additives to form a gypsum slurry which is then spread in a uniform stream onto a moving sheet of paper. Once the top sheet of paper has been applied, the board hardens while traveling along the production line and then passes through a multi-level dryer to remove residual moisture.
• 5. Distribution
  Lafarge Plasterboard distributes plasterboard to warehouses, PlastaMasta franchise stores and building sites via road transport throughout Australia.
• 6. End of Life
  Plasterboard is 100% recyclable if disassembled in a manner which leaves the product free of contaminates such as steel tracks, screws and adhesives. The old plasterboard can be recycled into new plasterboard or soil conditioner which can help crops and other plant life to thrive.

The production processes at the plaster mill and plasterboard production stages contribute most significantly to the primary energy consumption and environmental impacts. These impacts are caused mainly by the use of thermal energy for converting gypsum into plaster and for drying the plasterboard. More information on the environmental impacts of plasterboard is below.

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Environmental impact of Plasterboard Life Cycle

The main environmental impacts assessed in the Life Cycle Assessment of plasterboard are:

1. Primary Energy (MP) – also known as embodied energy, which is the energy consumed by all processes from extraction of materials (cradle) through to the production of a product (gate) and distribution for use (site)
2. Global warming potential (GWP100) – caused by CO2 emissions which enhance the greenhouse effect
3. Ozone depletion potential (ODP) – caused by CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) emissions which reduces the ozone layer, thereby preventing the ozone from absorbing the sun’s harmful UV radiation rays
4. Eutrophication potential (EP) – caused by an increase of nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorous, to soil and water which contributes to a reduction in species diversity
5. Acidification potential (AP) – caused by SO2 and NOx emissions into the air – also known as acid rain
6. Photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP) – also known as “summer fog”

The graph below shows the level of which each stage of the plasterboard life cycle contributes to main environmental impacts. Clearly the plaster mill process (3) and plasterboard production process (4) contribute most to these environmental impacts.

Therefore, our main opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of plasterboard lies in improvements to the production process.

For more information, click here.

*Note: Lifecycle Stage 4: Wallboard is another name for plasterboard

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Why is plasterboard "Green"?

Compared to traditional materials, plasterboard is an ideal product for sustainable construction.

• Low embodied energy
  Plasterboard has very low embodied energy per square metre and at the same time it can perform many functions. Plasterboard wall systems can meet all building code requirements including fire, acoustic and thermal insulation ratings.

  Embodied energy is the energy consumed by all processes from extraction of raw materials (‘cradle’) through to the production of a product (‘gate’) and distribution for use (‘site’). Due to variations in the transport of material to site, the ‘cradle to gate’ measurement, or PER, is used most often.

• Made from naturally occurring resources

Gypsum – over 90% of Lafarge plasterboard is made from naturally Occurring Australian gypsum. Gypsum is a non-toxic and natural rock formed from calcium sulfate during the dinosaur era through the evaporation of inland seas throughout the world.

Paper – Plasterboard is lined with 100% post consumer recycled paper.

Water – Water is mainly used to create the gypsum slurry which is then poured onto the paper liner. Process water and production waste are recycled internally within the factory so that no water is discharged. Furthermore, measures are in place to reduce water consumption and to increase the amount of harvested storm water used in the production process.

Additives – The remaining ingredients in plasterboard are additives, used to enhance properties of plasterboard such as fire resistance, moisture resistance and acoustic properties

• Lightweight
  Plasterboard is a lightweight building material which reduces transport costs and emissions as well as the total weight of buildings.
• Very little packaging
  The only packaging used for storing and transporting plasterboard is gluts which are fabricated from plasterboard reject and waste pieces.
• Fully recyclable
  Plasterboard is 100% recyclable if disassembled in a manner which leaves the product free of contaminates such as steel tracks, screws and adhesives. The used plasterboard can be recycled into new plasterboard, or soil conditioner which is used for farming and rehabilitation of mine sites.
• Very Low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
  VOCs are organic compounds which vaporise readily into the atmosphere. Many VOCs can be harmful when released into the environment. Plasterboard has negligible VOC levels and is therefore a healthy choice of building material. For more details click here.
• Compliance with Green Star rating tools
  The use of Lafarge Plasterboard products, services and systems can contribute to points on Green Star rating tools.
• Constant improvements to the manufacturing process to improve our environmental impact
  Lafarge Plasterboard has many initiatives to reduce environmental impact, such as harvesting stormwater, minimising water consumption, recycling plasterboard production waste and utilising a heat recovery system.

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