What Makes Stone Sustainable?

Start Date

05/15/2024

End Date

05/15/2026

Description

When determining what products are sustainable, decision makers are often challenged to decipher as the definitions of sustainability often differ from person to person. For some, the definition of a sustainable product is one with good material health – the product’s “ingredients” must be healthy. For others, the sourcing of the product – the process the product goes through to get to market -- must also be environmentally responsible.

In this course, we’ll share how stone fits the criteria for both definitions and how it’s a sustainable choice for building projects. We’ll dispel common myths about the extraction process for stone and share how natural stone is quarried and produced according to third-party verified certification standards What’s more, natural stone’s sustainability certification addresses the elements that are top-of-mind for decision makers, including:

• Water usage and management
• Energy usage
• How waste is handled
• Ethical labor practices
• and more

In this course, design teams will learn how to specify stone for sustainable projects and how certified stone aligns with leading green building certifications such as LEED v.4 and the Living Building Challenge.

Location

Coldspring, MN

Distance Learning

Course Equivalency

Subjects

Campus Planning & Design

Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Hours

1.0

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand the material health of natural stone, including the Declare Label.
2. Understand the sustainable practices for sourcing and quarrying natural stone, including the elements.
3. Learn how natural stone aligns with green building programs such as LEED v.4 and the Living Building Challenge.
4. Understand how to specify natural stone to achieve sustainability goals on projects.

Instructors

Coldsping Staff

Course Codes

Provider

Natural Stone Institute

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