Bundesverband der Gipsindustrie e.V, The Gypsum Manufacturers Association, is a prominent organization within the construction industry, addressing the expanding focus on sustainability in building materials. With an eye toward environmental accountability and regulatory compliance, BVG leads in fostering innovation and providing tools to meet sustainability demands.
1. Evolving Sustainability Standards
The construction industry is becoming increasingly aligned with sustainability metrics. This includes compliance with systems like BNB, DGNB, and LEED, as well as mandatory results of environmental product declarations (EPDs) under the updated Construction Products Regulation
2. Efficient Data Calculation and Reporting
The association faced the need to streamline data collection, calculation, and reporting for lifecycle assessments (LCAs) and EPDs for various gypsum-based construction products. They sought to minimize administrative efforts and ensure accurate assessments across their diverse product portfolio.
3. Supporting Broader Business Functions
Beyond construction, the association required tools flexible enough to expand into adjacent industries, such as gypsum’s applications in food or feed production, while maintaining environmental and sustainability data integrity.
4. Preparing for Mandatory Sustainability Reporting
With regulatory requirements expanding to include raw material strategies, the association needed actionable data and tools to address topics not traditionally covered by EPDs, such as primary raw material content and comprehensive reuse/recycling measures.
To help meet these challenges, the German Gypsum Industry Association (BVG) partnered with Sphera to create a customized Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) Tool specifically tailored for gypsum products.
The tool not only improves BVG’s operational efficiency but also enhances its ability to meet regulatory demands and market competitiveness.
The implementation of the LCA tool yielded significant benefits for the Gypsum Manufacturers Association, including the following:
The collaboration between Gypsum Manufacturers Association and Sphera exemplifies the power of tailored, innovative solutions to address industry-specific challenges. With the LCA tool, BVG has not only met current market and regulatory demands but also established a forward-looking approach to sustainability.
The success of this initiative underscores the importance of investing in advanced tools to operate efficiently, responsibly, and competitively in today’s rapidly changing construction industry.
