Sustainable: The Word in Climate-Positive Building Products

In search of ways to reduce emissions and preserve the environment, designers are responding to their clients’ growing desires for enhanced sustainability in residential and commercial designs. Millennials are asserting their power as consumers, as designers, and as business and political leaders, and they’re making their values known. These sought-after eco-styles are also in demand with conscious consumers who monitor their health, consider the planet’s future, and are ready to contribute to its protection.

In its latest Continuing Education Unit, Uniboard presented the Nielsen Global Survey of Corporate Social Responsibility data. It reveals that 56% of respondents would pay more for products from a company known for its environmental friendliness, and 87% would be more loyal to a company that contributes to social and environmental issues. Current eco-conscious décor trends include:

• Eco Consciousness and Transparency: A focus on material ingredients and attributes is starting to give way to a life cycle thinking approach—life cycle assessments and life cycle analyses—which examines materials’ true environmental and health impacts. Uniboard’s Environmental Data Sheets explain that the company recycles post-industrial wood residues which would otherwise be burnt or sent to landfills. It has also developed lighter products with physical properties that reduce the carbon footprint and help reduce CO2 emissions in production and transport.
• Lifetime Extension: The longer a product lasts, the less often you replace it, saving materials. Decorative surfaces like TFL are more durable than veneers and solid woods and much easier to maintain and clean. And, should a component or panel get damaged, it can be replaced with an exact match years later—something that’s impossible to do with wood or veneer.
• Eco Style: Plants and light combine to provide a feeling of nature. Decorative composite wood panels in wood tones or warm colours add to the feeling of bringing the outdoors inside.
• Minimalism: Choosing clean lines without unnecessary details is another eco-friendly option. Make maximum use of available space with attractive shelves, closets, cupboards, and walls.

Millennial consumers are committed to making environmentally sustainable purchasing choices. But what makes a product genuinely sustainable? Uniboard’s CEU course presents data to show that TFL and other wood fiber residues are among the most sustainable building materials on the market. Forest management, the properties that make wood climate positive, efficiencies in the panel manufacturing process, and the criteria and processes behind environmental certification are discussed.

Ariane Bouchard is the Marketing Manager at Uniboard. She has collaborated with partners and consumers on strategic brand building, product launches, website redesign, and Omnichannel Marketing campaigns.