DORMA, a market leader in premium access solutions, stresses the importance of third-party testing of products to assess their environment impact rather than having to rely on information provided by manufacturers to ascertain their sustainability.

The company points out that while there are international rating systems that assess the environmental performance of built systems, they do not assess individual products.

One certification system that provides a solution to this issue is the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which offer constructors a clear environmental rating for individual products, says the company which claims to be the first in its sector to be actively engaged in processing EPD certifications for its innovative products.

Afridi ... focus on EPD certification.

While the many rating systems in the market – Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the US, Breeam (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) from the UK, DGNB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen) from Germany, Casbee (Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency) from Japan, and Green Star from Australia – assess the environmental performance of the built environment, these are purely for buildings and neighbourhoods and not for products, says Altaf Afridi, regional marketing director Mena (Middle East and North Africa) of Dorma Gulf Door Controls, who is based in the UAE.

“These certification systems have made a big difference in the building industry, but there is much more that the industry can do. While following one of the above assessment systems, we have to rely on the sustainability product information provided by the manufacturers,” says Afridi.

“Dorma believes that there is an important need for an agreed system for products to be tested by a third party as there is a common misunderstanding in the industry that Leed/Breeam, or similar, certified products exist.”

Dorma's Premium and Plus series door handles ... EPD certified.

This is where EPDs come in. An EPD is a worldwide accepted standardised way of quantifying the environmental impact of a product or system based on the holistic life cycle assessment (LCA).

Declarations include information on the environmental impact of raw material acquisition, energy use and efficiency, content of materials and chemical substances, emissions to air, soil and water and waste generation.

Product and company information is also included and the item is rated by internationally recognised standards such as ISO 14025, 14040, 14044, 21930 and BS EN 15804. The EPDs of the products can be simply used for the calculation of the sustainability of buildings, allowing contractors and architects to match whichever international standard they seek, he explains.

Dorma has a wide range of products that have EPD certification. These include the TS 93 series door closer; ED 100 and ED 250 series automatic swing door operators; ST Flex Standard and Green automatic sliding door assembly; Moveo, Variflex and Varitrans operable partition systems; TS97 and ITS 96 door closers; 100 series and SVP locks; and Premium and Plus series door handles.

Green rated ... Dorma Moveo partition systems.

Elaborating on the company’s EPD-approved products, he says the TS 93 features an attractive design and incorporates a coordination system for double doors, smoke detection and an electromagnetic hold-open system. The industry-leading product has obtained EPD from the Institute of Construction and the Environment.

Also, Dorma’s door closers ensure rooms do not let contamination escape (smoking rooms, printing and photocopying machine rooms) and provide insulation against heat or cold.

Commenting the benefits of using these certified products, he says: “The advantage of using Dorma products in green buildings is not just based on the EPDs. Our holistic range supports the building certifications by its applications as well.”

Citing examples, he says: “The Moveo glass operable partition system provides flexibility of office spaces as well as brings daylighting deep into the building. And our revolving doors ensure effective separation between the internal and external climate keeping energy losses to a minimum, thus cutting the cost of both cooling and heating.”

Dorma’s revolving doors ... keep energy losses at a minimum by ensuring effective separation between the internal and external environment.

Other products such as Dorma’s ANSI architectural hardware line goes a step further where ecological responsibility extends over the entire lifecycle of the product, including its recycling, in keeping with the tenets of the Product End of Useful Life Recycle Programme, Afridi says.

The company’s products are used in several green buildings around the world such as Infrax West in Torhout, Belgium, Aldo Leopold Legacy Center, Baraboo, US and European Investment Bank, Luxembourg to name a few.

Dorma is a member of various international organisations and an active partner in research projects being run by the Fraunhofer-Institut (FutureLab) of Germany and the University of Lucerne (iHomeLab) of Switzerland. The company is also involved in an initiative by the BHMA (Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association) to develop a North American version of the current European-focused Product Category Rules (PCRs) for locks, fittings and automatic doors which will be the base for EPDs for North America. The BHMA has developed ANSI specifications for architectural hardware and related other products.