This document discusses methodologies for assessing the social and economic impacts of building materials in order to compare different products. It evaluates the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility, and Guidelines for Social Lifecycle Assessment of Products (GSLAP) and finds that while relevant, none can be directly applied. The GSLAP methodology comes closest to meeting the requirements. The document proposes developing a Sustainable Building Materials Index (SBMI) that standardizes metrics like employment, training, and environmental impacts per functional unit of a building material to facilitate comparisons.

1. ASSESSING THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS
OF BUILDING MATERIALS
October 2013
Jeremy Gibberd

2. Format
1
2
3
4
5
Research Question
Criteria for the Selection of Methodologies
Selected Methodologies
Discussion
The Sustainable Building Materials Index

3. Research question
•
Can an objective way of measuring, and representing,
the key social and economic sustainability impacts
related to the building products be developed, in order
to enable building products to be compared?

4. Theoretical framework
•
What is meant by social and economic sustainability
impacts?
...improving the quality of human life while living within the
carrying capacity of supporting eco-systems.
(IUCN/UNEP/WWF,1991)
Quantified definition
the achievement of an Ecological Footprint of less than
1.8 global hectares per person and the achievement of a
Human Development Index value of above 0.8
(World Wild Life Fund, 2006).

5. Review criteria for methodologies
A. Do the methodologies enable the assessment of
building products, and comparisons between building
products, to be made?
B. Do the methodologies focus on measurement of key
social and economic aspects related to sustainability?

6. Methodologies

7. Selected Methodologies
A. Global Reporting Initiative
B. ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility
C. Guidelines for Social Lifecycle Assessment of
Products

8. Selected methodologies
A. Global Reporting Initiative
B. ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility
C. Guidelines for Social Lifecycle Assessment of
Products

9. Global Reporting Initiative
•
•
•
Developed by the Global
Reporting Initiative
‘a trusted and credible
framework for
sustainability reporting’.
[ report content]... made by
considering..organization’s
purpose and experience,
..expectations and
interests of the
organization’s
stakeholders.

10. GRI assessment criteria
Economic performance
Market presence
Indirect economic impacts
Materials
Energy
Water
Biodiversity
Emissions, effluent and waste
Products and services
Compliance
Transport
Employment
Labour / management relations
Occupational health and safety
Training and education
Diversity and equal opportunities
Equal remuneration for woman and man
Investment and procurement practices
Non discrimination
Freedom of association and collective bargaining
Child labour
Prevention of forced and compulsory labour
Security practices
Indigenous rights
Local communities
Corruption
Public policy
Anti-competitive behaviour
Compliance
Customer health and safety
Product and services labelling
Marketing and communication
Customer privacy
Compliance

11. Application Levels for GRI reports

12. ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility
•
•
•
•
Developed by International
Standards Organisation
(ISO)
...provide guidance on the
underlying principles of
social responsibility
...integrate socially
responsible behaviour into
the organization
Guidance - not to be used
for certification

13. ISO assessment criteria
Human rights
Labour practices
The environment
Fair operating practices
Consumer issues
Community involvement and development

14. Overview of ISO 26000

15. Guidelines for Social Lifecycle Assessment of
Products
•
Developed by United Nations
Environmental Programme
•
Increase decision-makers’
awareness of more sustainable
life cycle stages.
Provide holistic assessments of
the implications of a product’s
life cycle for the environment
and the society.
Offer guidance to reduce
environmental degradation
increase the environmental,
economic and social benefits
•
•

16. GSLAP assessment criteria
Human rights
Working conditions
Health and safety
Cultural heritage
Governance
Social and economic repercussions

17. Social impact assessment system from
categories to unit of measurement

18. Example summary of S-LCA for considered
stakeholder groups

19. Discussion
•
•
•
•
GRI, ISO and GSLAP methodologies are relevant and
have useful concepts that can be applied to the CBA
project.
None of these methodologies can be readily be
applied to compare social and economic impacts of
building products in South Africa
The GSLAP methodology comes closest to this
requirements. It will however require standardisation
to support comparability.
Worth developing an SBMI

20. The Sustainable Building Materials Index
SBMI

21. Building
Product
System
Company
• Employment
• Training
• Mentoring
• Health and safety
• Abseentism
Outputs
• Carbon emissions
• Pollution
• Waste
Inputs
• Resources
• Water
• Land use
Outputs
• Wall functional unit
Enterprise
• Employment

22. Production – Functional Units
- Impacts per functional unit
PRODUCTION
Construction products produced (number/year)
FUNCTIONAL UNIT
Construction product units required per 1 m2 of wall functional unit
ENVIRONMENTAL
Resource consumption
Carbon emissions per year
Water consumption
Production area hectares
Kg equiv waste products
Kg equiv pollution
SOCIO ECONOMIC
FTE equivalent years of employment per year
FTE equivalent years of employment in employment per year (FTE years)
Formal training hour equivalents per year (Formal training hours / year)
Formal mentoring hour equivalents per year (Formal mentoing hours /
year)
Health and safety incident equivalents per year (Formal mentoing hours /
year)
Abseenteism equivalent years per year (Formal mentoing hours / year)
300 000
Production in
functional units
300
1000
Per site
Per functional
production
unit
455 000
455
209 000
209
400 500
400.5
9
0.009
28 000
28
5 400
5.4
11 440
1 000
446
250
Weighting
Value
Index
455
209
400.5
0.009
28
5.4
3
4
5
3
3
4
1
1
1
1
11.44
1
0.446
0.25
1
1
1
2
1
11.44
1
0.446
1
1
1
1
1
1
0.11
3
1
0.27
3
0.25
110
270
0.11
0.27

23. Functional units
Roof functional
unit
Door functional
unit
Window functional
unit
Wall
functional unit
Floor functional
unit

24. SBMI Report

25. Thank you, Questions?
Jeremy Gibberd
Gauge
www.sustainablebuildingmaterialindex.com
www.sustainablebuiltenvironments.com