Getting down to the practical realities of specifying green …
What happens when your project requires timber in some form for finishes (very common), what are the local alternatives? In the case of bamboo boards, your alternatives are either solid woods or pressed boards & forget the exotic wood veneers, they come from far away. From a floor covering perspective, true green options are very limited. No matter how you look at it, your options are greatly diminished when you insist on locally sourced only.
As a practical example, the GBCSA Office template awards a maximum of 2 points for locally sourced materials. So if you’re practically able to use locally sourced timber for your finishes,
- that is FSC certified (Pine, Eucalyptis? – there is a lobby against certifying SA plantations as FSC forests & South Africa only has natural indigenous timber reserves of just 2,999 square km).
- that is sourced from less than 400 km away (mostly sourced from KZN & Mpumalanga)
- and you use a significant amount in your project.
You score a best case scenario of a weighted 4 Green Points. But what about Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ), will the local supplier be able to offer you a product that meets the GBCSA IEQ requirements? If not, given everything else being equal, the use of bamboo flooring & boards would gain you an additional 2 Green Points for IEQ, equaling the points not achieved by local sourcing. BUT, Eco-Logic Bamboo gives you a technically superior option that is sustainable and rapidly renewable with it’s 5 year harvesting cycle (vs 11+ years for FSC certified local timbers).
Bamboo doors - internal runner doors
From a carbon footprint perspective, there is no comparison when comparing the benefits of bamboo to other solid woods; bamboo is superior in all the green aspects, and very compelling when comparing the technical aspects. A large percentage of solid timbers used in South Africa are imported from places such as South America, North America, Central Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. This effectively negates the locally sourced aspect. If you need to use wood (and heaven forbid – you use a plastic option) – bamboo is a clearly a better option – THE ideal WOOD REPLACEMENT product.
Pressed boards vs bamboo boards – the only real advantage is price and even that becomes debatable when your specification requires an exotic veneer on a top quality HDF pressed board. In virtually all other aspects, specifically with regard to indoor air quality & moisture tolerance, bamboo boards are an excellent option.
What about floor coverings – tiles, ceramics, laminated flooring, carpets, resilient flooring (many of these products are manufactured in distant lands as well – especially the high quality ones). Each has it’s place, but bamboo flooring excels when compared from a green perspective (and can certainly more that hold it’s own from a technical perspective).
Strandwoven bamboo - cladding
Counter tops – bamboo counter tops are a great alternative to granite & marble (both not renewable or sustainable) plus they’re cheaper.
Furniture, BIC’s & structural carcasses – technically, bamboo flat boards completely outshine MDF & HDF and cost wise, compare very favourably to solid wood competitors (whilst in many aspects, outshining them technically).
Cladding & Ceilings – with the rich grain of strand woven bamboo or the stain-ability of solid bamboo boards, the options are endless.
Doors – internal and external.
Eco-Logic Bamboo boards & flooring can be considered a “green” timber replacement. We cannot vouch for other suppliers, but we do suggest you evaluate their advertised green credentials.
So, if your project makes use of any timber, or your current products are not giving you the green points required, we suggest you be careful not to “throw the baby out with the bath water” when a comment like “bamboo is not green because it has to be transported far” is tossed in as an objection. Even though Eco-Logic Bamboo flooring & boards are imported, they are still a great sustainable and rapidly renewable + technically superior option and still compare very well to many locally sourced alternatives – all things considered.
When evaluating which products to specify in your next project, one should be cautious not to zone in on one or two seemingly negative factors, but rather consider as many contributing factors as possible, as would be done in a Cradle to Cradle evaluation, before making your decision. We believe that the case for the green credentials of Eco-Logic Bamboo flooring and boards remains a very strong one.
