PNA with the Polytechnic University of Turin has just completed the environmental analysis that determines the contribution of natural stone in terms of sustainability for our buildings
Sustainability is emerging as the most important and most difficult challenge to reconcile economic development with the need to safeguard the integrity of the environment. For this reason, MGI has joined the Life Cycle Assessment project of the Authentic Natural Stone Business Network (PNA) -established to promote and protect the competitiveness of authentically natural stone, its values and its countless possibilities for use. Its just-completed first industry-wide Life Cycle Environmental Assessment set out to quantify the environmental impacts of 1 m2 of sheet having a thickness of 2 cm using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, based on the ISO14040- 44 standard and according to European Commission guidelines. The LCA study refers to the entire stone supply chain, from the natural stone quarrying process to block sawing and subsequent surface finishing-including energy, materials consumed and waste produced during all stages.
Excellent performance for Caldia® marble.
MGI joined the project assiemo with 6 other companies in the PNA Network (Antolini Luigi & C., Basaltina, Grassi Pietre, Margraf, Marmi Ghirardi, Franchi Umberto Marmi), which provided data on their production in quarries and subsequent processing plants, for a total of 12 materials extracted and processed in Italy. The study is sufficiently representative of the Italian stone industry, as it considers different lithotypes from different geographical areas in central and northern Italy. As shown in the graph (Figure 8), according to the results, the average environmental impacts of 1 square meter of 2-cm-thick Caldia® marble slab with surface finish are 7.1 kgCO2 eq/m2 . This is lower than the weighted average for the Italian natural stones in the study, which rewards KM0 processing and careful energy management . Overall, theimpact on climate change is between 6.0 kgCO2 eq/m2 and 15.0 kgCO2 eq/m2, with an average value of 7.9 kgCO2 eq/m2(weighted average compared to the quantities produced by each company in the reference year). This variability is physiological for the supply chain in question, in which processes (and the related consumption of energy and materials) vary depending on the mechanical characteristics of the stone, as does the yield, especially during the quarrying phase.
Due to its inherent characteristics, such as eco-friendliness, non-toxicity, insulating and fire resistance properties, the stone product represents an extremely durable material over time (it is eternal!) easily recyclable in waste reuse processes, thus absolutely consistent with the characteristics of the circular economy. It is therefore a sustainable material and is environmentally friendly.
Comparing the environmental performance of stone slabs with a building material having a similar intended use (the so-called "functional unit"), the environmental product declarations (EPDs) of slabs and tiles made of ceramic material having a thickness of 1.2 cm (the most widely used for floor and wall coverings) were analyzed. For the same intended use, a stone slab is more environmentally beneficial than a ceramic material s lab. In fact, from a comparison with available EPDs, ceramic tile has an impact ranging from 15.5 to 29.9 kgCO2 eq/m2, compared with an average impact of stone slabs of 7.9 kgCO2 eq/m2.
🔗 LCA Natural Stone Sector Italy
MGI will be present with Pietra Naturale Autentica at the upcoming SuperDesignShow in the spaces of SuperStudioPiù in Milan from April 17 to 23, for 'WE ARE NATURE': an installation that, between emotion and image technology, enhances the natural sustainability of stone and emphasizes the original strength that binds it to man. At Central Point No. 17.