Gypsum industry news

UK: Saint-Gobain's British Gypsum is making it easier for specifiers and architects to identify environmental performance with the launch of seven new Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) that cover nine products.

As part of its aim to give environmental transparency and make it easier for specifiers to gather evidence for building certification schemes, such as BREEAM, LEED and SKA, British Gypsum has introduced additional EPD to its Thistle plaster range. These include declarations for Thistle BoardFinish, MultiFinish, BondingCoat, Browning, Universal OneCoat, DuraFinish, SprayFinish, ToughCoat and HardWall.

The EPDs were externally verified for the Thistle plaster products following a robust Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which calculated the environmental impact of each product throughout its lifecycle. The LCA considers a range of factors, including the effect of raw materials, manufacturing process, installation, performance in use and recycling capabilities.

"As our EPDs are based on clearly-defined EU-wide rules and regulations, our customers can be confident in the knowledge that they are receiving reliable indicators, allowing them to make an informed decision when planning or delivering a project," said Heidi Barnard, sustainability leader at British Gypsum. "We're currently the only UK plaster manufacturer to offer EPDs, but we recognise the importance of giving our customers greater transparency, especially in our industry, where sustainable practices are becoming more rigorous on an almost daily basis."

UK: A range of British Gypsum plaster and plasterboard solutions have been used in a contemporary housing complex developed by Taylor Wimpey's North Thames regional business in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, to help the house-builder meet thermal and acoustic requirements. The large-scale new-build development includes 159 apartments and 50 three-storey terraced houses.

"Due to the size of the project and the strict timescales we were working to, we needed a solution that required as little labour as possible. Drylyner TL was easy to use and really simplified the installation process from start to finish," said Tony Butcher, senior project manager at Taylor Wimpey North Thames.

For ease of application and speed, British Gypsum DriLyner Thermal Laminate (TL), a wallboard masonry lining system, was used on partitions and separating walls. The system offers a quick and easy solution to drylining brick, block and concrete walls by utilising adhesive dabs to bond the wallboard onto the walls. This meets the acoustic performance requirements in accordance with Part E of the UK Building Regulations, to provide superior sound insulation.

For further acoustic performance, Gyproc Soundcoat Plus was used on the partition walls in both the apartments and terrace houses. This coat is a gypsum based compound that is designed to seal masonry walls prior to drylining, was used to minimise air leakage through cracks and unfilled joints, improving energy efficiency and limiting noise pollution.

In keeping with the sustainability focus of the project, Taylor Wimpey took advantage of the British Gypsum Plasterboard Recycling Service in order to minimise the environmental impact of the project.

"The Plasterboard Recycling Service was a great help. It was a cost-effective recycling option that not only saved us a lot of time and effort, but also helped us meet our sustainability objectives. British Gypsum supplied the skips we needed for the waste products and took them away to be recycled at its onsite recycling facility," said Butcher.

UK: British Gypsum, part of France's Saint-Gobain group, has been crowned Manufacturer of the Year at the 2013 Building Awards. The company picked up the accolade at the construction industry event in recognition of its focus on innovation, sustainable practices and corporate social responsibility activities in the past 12 months.

The award win follows a number of key developments for British Gypsum in 2012. The manufacturer launched ground-breaking solutions and technologies such as ACTIVair, and became the first UK plaster and drylining producer to achieve a BES 6001 'very good' for a core range of products. In late 2012, British Gypsum also helped to raise over Euro120,000 in just 100 days for construction charity CRASH and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mike Chaldecott, managing director at British Gypsum, said, "In the past year, we've focused on making key developments that have a real positive impact for our customers, so we're really proud that this has been recognised by the built environment industry at the highest level."

UK: British Gypsum, part of the Saint-Gobain group, has been shortlisted for a Best Practice award in the Eco Innovation category from the Association of Interior Specialists (AIS). Judges recognised the lengths to which the company went to help customers prove traceability of products and, in turn, meet and exceed environmental targets. British Gypsum was the first UK gypsum-based wallboard and drylining manufacturer to achieve a BES 6001 'very good' rating for its core range of products.

Four other companies have been shortlisted in the category and the winner will be announced at a ceremony during the AIS conference at the Forest of Arden Hotel, Birmingham, on 13 November 2012.