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This guidance is primarily aimed at public procurers involved in a range of contracting agreements related to building materials and products. This includes the purchase of building materials for construction works, but may also extend to material extraction, manufacturing, building, retrofit, refurbishment, design, interior fit out, and end-of-life demolition or deconstruction processes. There are a variety of roles within the procurement cycle that the guidance can support, from commissioning, category management, tender preparation and evaluation, to contract management.

This document summarises lessons learned from the various project activities in three sectors: electrical and electronic equipment (EEE); building and construction; and toys. It also formulates key messages addressed to different stakeholder groups and provides links to guidance and tools developed under the GEF project

UNEP's new Eco-innovation Building Materials Supplement was created to respond to the building material sector's need for more guidance in building resilient, competitive, and sustainable business models for SMEs. Designed together with Bioregional, pilot implementation support of the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC) Sri Lanka and to be read alongside UNEP's Eco-innovation Manual, the supplement provides specific examples, learning case studies, and advice on applying the eco-innovation methodology within the building materials value chain.

This study, commissioned by DG Environment for the European Commission and produced by Wood and Ramboll.  The objective was to assess the use of PFASs and fluorine-free alternatives in textiles, upholstry, carpets, leather and apparel, including specific focus on volumes of use, technical function, and emissions.

Non-fluorine alternatives considered were hydrocarbons, silicones, dendrimers, polyurethane, nanomaterials, and alternative technologies.  The study makes recommendations for policy, including a REACH restriction on the placing on the market and use of these products that contain any PFAS, and a listing under the Stockholm Convention.  It is also recommended in the report that a restriction could be combined with voluntary industry measures and provisions in public procurement to encourage substitution of PFAS before mandatory legislation is introduced.

This study aims to predict human exposure to pollutants and heating load in buildings by developing a numerical model coupling heat and chemical transfers in the building envelope. The study characterizes the effect of temperature and air renewal rate on chemical emissions from building materials and human exposure. The results show that increasing indoor temperature by 10°C doubles the maximum indoor air concentration of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, leading to increased human exposure. The study also finds that higher air renewal rates lead to smaller intake fractions of pollutants from building materials. The study highlights the need to guide early design choices towards a good compromise between human indoor exposure and heating load, especially with the increasing emphasis on energy-efficient building design.

This is a pre-print manuscript pending publication in open access scientific journals.

This document has been developed within the framework of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project ID: 9771 on Global Best Practices on Emerging Chemical Policy Issues of Concern under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

The study examines the near-field exposures and health risks of organic chemicals in interior paints commonly used in Sri Lanka. The researchers developed mass balance-based and high-throughput models to predict chemical emissions during wet and dry phases and integrated these models into the USEtox model for health risk assessment. The models accurately predicted indoor air concentrations and drying time. They found that inhalation is the primary exposure pathway, and exposure is much higher for painters during application than for household members during use. The study identified chemicals of concern and recommended the use of protective equipment for painters and increasing air ventilation rates to reduce exposure for household members.

This is a pre-print manuscript pending publication in open access scientific journals.

This document has been developed within the framework of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project ID: 9771 on Global Best Practices on Emerging Chemical Policy Issues of Concern under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

Green public procurement specification for general construction and flooring adhesives. The goal of the specification is to set to set a hierarchy of flooring covering preferences, establish minimum environmental goals for flooring installations in state properties, and provide recommendations for additional aspects of flooring performance, cleaning and maintenance for a healthier indoor environment.

In January 2019, the California Building Standards Commission unanimously approved changes to the state building codes proposed by the California Office of the State Fire Marshal. The changes allow use of polystyrene insulation without flame retardants below a concrete slab-on-grade. These changes would maintain fire safety while improving human and environmental health.  This fact sheet details the key considerations for implementation of a policy on allowing flame retardant-free insulation within a building code, and the associated health and technical considerations.