A national database allowing the building industry to check the sustainability credentials of construction materials in order to ensure compliance and meet developer needs has been launched.
The Building Products Information Rating (BPI) was launched in late 2019, aimed at giving a greater level of transparency to the construction industry that materials they were sourcing were compliant with sustainability regulations and the intended green rating of the finished building.
BPI is a free search platform with thousands of products from hundreds of Australian and international suppliers. The search engine is the brainchild of Jonas Bengtsson, CEO of sustainability advisory firm Edge Environments. Development came from IT firm ComplyFlow with the backing of a government grant from AusIndustry and support from the Insurance Council of Australia.
In addition to the green rating of building materials, the BPI Rating also assesses the expected performance and resilience of products and the companies producing them. The database takes into account the many hundreds of global product standards and certifications and helps builders find the best equipment for their project.
“We often heard from clients and attend events where this situation was highlighted as something holding back the industry,” said Bengtsson.
“We realised that our know-how placed us as the ideal developers of a solution.”
“BPI allows building professionals to ensure the buildings they design and build are safe, resilient to the impacts of a changing climate, environmentally friendly in their construction and operation, and promote occupant health and wellbeing,” Bengtsson said.
Evolution of the search engine so far has seen product recommendations developed in partnership with the insurance industry along with a product sustainability scoring chart.