BRE Global Certification - certification for customer confidence
Independent, third-party certification is always important as its impartiality reassures customers that our products will perform as expected. This is why Polyflor has had the majority of its product ranges individually assessed and rated by BRE Global. Each product which is certificated by BRE Global has undergone a LCA – a ‘cradle to grave’ assessment – therefore looking at its environmental performance throughout every stage of its life. Generic ratings are a good guidance, but are based on European production averages, whereas individual certification ensures accuracy of LCA data specific to the product and manufacturer.
Polyflor’s safety, homogeneous, heterogeneous and LVT ranges have been individually assessed by BRE Global to measure their environmental impact. The new rating scheme is based on A+ to E rankings, with A+ being the most desirable rating, having achieved the best ecopoints. A better rating helps to maximise a building’s BREEAM score, which is achievable through our 27 A+ ratings.
The BRE Global rating scheme is categorised by end use areas, as the environmental impact in each can vary. The reason for this is that various products will be available in the different sectors, which are subject to a pre-determined spread of ratings across the categories A+ to E. Therefore more options may be available within the domestic sector, for example. Overall, Polyflor’s certified ratings are impressive, particularly in the key areas of health and education, where BREEAM ratings are linked to government funding. For more information on our certification, visit www.greenbooklive.com and enter a Polyflor certificate number ENP472, ENP415 or ENP429 into the search box – certificate number depends on the product, see below.
SAFETY | Certificate | Health | Education | Retail
(fashion) | Retail
(durability) | Office | Domestic |
| Polysafe Astral PUR | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Polysafe Mosaic PUR | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Polysafe Corona PUR | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Polysafe Vogue Ultra PUR | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Polysafe Standard PUR | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Polysafe Wood fx PUR | ENP415 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | B | B |
| Polysafe Wood fx Acoustix PUR | ENP415 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | B | B |
| Polysafe Hydro | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Polysafe Strata | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Polysafe Ultima | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
HOMOGENEOUS | Certificate | Health | Education | Retail
(fashion) | Retail
(durability) | Office | Domestic |
| Pearlazzo PUR | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| 2000 PUR | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Classic Mystique PUR | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Mystique PUR | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Prestige PUR | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Standard XL | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| XL PU | ENP472 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
HETEROGENEOUS | Certificate | Health | Education | Retail
(fashion) | Retail
(durability) | Office | Domestic |
| Harmony fx PUR | ENP415 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Forest fx PUR | ENP415 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Mineral fx PUR | ENP415 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
| Acoustix Harmony fx PUR | ENP415 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A | B |
| Acoustix Forest fx PUR | ENP415 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A | B |
| Acoustix Gallery fx PUR | ENP415 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A |
LVT | Certificate | Health | Education | Retail
(fashion) | Retail
(durability) | Office | Domestic |
| Expona Design PUR | ENP429 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | B | B |
| Expona Commercial PUR | ENP429 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | B |
| Bevel Line PUR | ENP429 | A+ | A+ | A+ | A | A | A |
| Camaro PUR | ENP429 | * | * | A+ | * | A | A |
| Colonia PUR | ENP429 | * | * | * | * | * | A |
*Product not suitable for use area and has therefore not been rated for the particular use area.
BRE Global Generic Ratings
Where Polyflor products have not been individually certified by BRE Global, generic ratings are also available. These generic ratings apply to specific categories of flooring installed into defined use areas. For example, homogeneous flooring, to EN649 standard, rated 34/43 for use area and installed in a healthcare environment, achieves a generic BRE Global A+ rating. Vinyl flooring achieves on average a generic BRE Global A+ rating for most vinyl varieties across the categories shown below.
| Standard | Homogeneous
EN 649
EN ISO 10581 | Heterogeneous
EN 649
EN ISO 10582 | Acoustic
EN 651 | LVT
EN 649 | Safety
EN 13845 | Rubber (smooth)
EN1817 | Rubber (profiled)
EN12199 | LVS
EN653 |
| Health | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | - |
| Element | 821570038 | 821570039 | 821570053 | 821570054 | 821570055 | 821570056 | 821570057 |  |
| Education | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | - |
| Element | 821570065 | 821570066 | 821570010 | 821570013 | 921570010 | 821570014 | 821570015 | |
| Commercial | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | - |
| Element | 821570038 | 821570039 | 821570041 | 821570042 | 821570043 | 821570044 | 821570045 | |
| Retail | A+/A+ | A+/A+ | A+/A | A+/A | A+/A | A+/A+ | A+/A+ | - |
| Element | 821570038 | 821570039 | 821570053 | 821570054 | 821570055 | 821570056 | 821570057 | |
| Domestic | A | A | A | A | B | A | A | A |
| Element | 821570065 | 821570066 | 821570010 | 821570013 | 921570010 | 821570014 | 821570015 | 821570002 |
For more detail about how these ratings are arrived at by BRE Global visit
www.bre.co.uk/greenguide.
Polyflor ranges not individually assessed by BRE Global can be included within the appropriate generic ratings, shown below:
| Safety | Homogeneous | Rubber (smooth) | Rubber (profiled) | LVT | LVS |
Modena PUR
Hydro Evolve
Ecomax
Arena PUR
Expona Control PUR | Polyflor SD
Finesse SD
Finesse EC
Polyflor EC
Polyflor ROF
Polyflex Plus PU | Diamant | Noppe Stud Tile | SimpLay | Secura |
For North America, Polyflor has produced a separate guide to demonstrate where Polyflor floorcoverings have the potential to contribute to LEEDŽ points, with a detailed explanation of how our products fulfill the requirements listed below;
MATERIALS & RESOURCES
MR Credit 1.1: Building reuse – maintain 75% of existing floors
Polyflor ranges have excellent durability. Vinyl flooring is renowned for its longevity of life compared to many alternative resilient floorcoverings – typically 20-25 years.
MR Credit 2.1: Construction Waste Management (divert 50% from disposal)
MR Credit 2.2: Construction Waste Management (divert 75% from disposal)
Dedicated to the ‘Halving Waste to Landfill’ commitment, the Recofloor scheme (of which Polyflor is a founding and funding member) complies with site waste management legislation and diverts vinyl flooring waste (off-cuts and uplifted) from going to landfill.
MR Credit 4.1: 10% Recycled content (post-consumer + ˝ pre-consumer)
MR Credit 4.2: 20% Recycled content (post-consumer + ˝ pre-consumer)
Polyflor homogeneous ranges contain an average of 25% recycled material, which includes process waste, sampling waste, materials from site and from the distribution chain. In 2011 we recycled 10,314 tonnes of production waste and over 547 tonnes of post consumer waste back into new product.
MR Credit 5.1: Regional Materials (10% extracted, processed & manufactured regionally)
MR Credit 5.2: Regional Materials (20% extracted, processed & manufactured regionally)
As a global company, Polyflor flooring is manufactured in the UK, across Europe and Asia and raw and
recycled materials are locally sourced.
INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
IEQ Credit 4.3: Low emitting materials (carpet systems)
All of our ranges have passed key international standards but over the last few years we have reformulated all our ranges to ensure their VOC emissions are kept to the lowest levels achievable. The VOC emissions on our range of flooring products have been tested by independent laboratories and are all below the strictly set, acceptable levels of the AgBB test method. Polyflor has also achieved FloorScoreŽ certification and has had key homogeneous, safety and luxury vinyl tile ranges evaluated - certificates for these products are available at www.scscertified.com.
The Ecospecifier scheme is described as a guide to eco and health preferable products, materials and technologies for the built environment. We are registered to this scheme in Australia and South Africa. In Australia the Ecospecifier assessment has placed Polyflor homogeneous PUR ranges in the top 15% of resilient finishes based on their environmental impact.
Assessment of materials is based on a life cycle approach and measuring the impact of products in the critical areas below:
- Reduction of Energy and Greenhouse Gases
- Habitat and Land Degradation
- Resource Depletion and Efficiency
- Occupant and Contractor Health
- Toxicity to Land, Air and Water
Due to the strong performance in minimizing the environmental impact in these categories, Polyflor products, including Pearlazzo PUR, Prestige PUR, Mystique PUR, Classic Mystique PUR, 2000 PUR and XL PU are listed on the ecospecifier.com.au database of environmentally preferable materials, providing architects, designers and specifiers in general with an easier and effective way to select an environmentally sustainable flooring product.
In addition to this, Polyflor has become the first commercial flooring organisation in Australia and New Zealand to achieve Ecospecifier's 'Green Tag' LCARate certification in its homogeneous, safety and LVT ranges, 22 in total. Importantly, Polyflor vinyl flooring also achieves a GreenRate level 'A', scoring maximum points in the Materials-Flooring Calculator and IEQ-VOC sections of the Green Star rating tools.
There are many environmental schemes in place around the world and we have also successfully registered with BASTA in Sweden, which aims to phase out harmful products in construction and offer a select database of registered sustainable products, similar to the Ecospecifier method.
There is a commonality with all of these schemes, and that is that Polyflor ranges are repeatedly evaluated as being an environmentally beneficial choice of flooring.
EPDs
Environmental assessments or ‘Green Labels’ legitimately help specifiers make informed decisions on the environmental profiles of construction products. Environmental Product Declarations are the next step.
There are many different green labels to choose from worldwide. This proliferation can make it difficult to make a choice and also get the clearest and most up to date environmental information, confusing the global market. Specifiers are ever more discerning over green claims and want reliable, consistent data. With that in mind, the European working group CEN TC 350 created the new standard EN 15804 Sustainability of Construction Works - Environmental Product Declarations (EPD). With the aim of creating ONE pan European and worldwide harmonised standard for reporting of environmental performance.
There are 24 environmental indicators within the assessment process of the EPD, which are broken down into the following categories:
- 7 Environmental Impact Indicators
- 10 Resource Indicators
- 3 Waste Indicators
- 4 Output Flow Indicators
Critically the 7 Environmental Impact Indicators include:
- GWP – Global Warming Potential
- ODP – Oxone Depletion Potential
- AP – Acidification Potential
- EP – Eutrophication Potential
- POCP – Formation of Potential of Tropospheric Ozone
- ADP – Abiotic Depletion Potential of non-fossil fuels
- ADP – Abiotic Depletion Potential of fossil resources
Polyflor EPDs
In 2012 Polyflor were part of the ERFMI EN 15804 generic data set for creation of industry EPDs which were successfully, independently verified by IBU.
All generic and product specific EPDs are written to the rules and standards according to EN 15804 and ISO 14025.
The ERFMI’s ‘generic’ data set for EPDs include the following – again independently verified by IBU:
- EN 10581 PVC Homogeneous
- EN 10582 PVC Heterogeneous (compact)
- EN 651 PVC Heterogeneous (foam backed)
- EN 13845 PVC Safety Flooring
- EN 649 Luxury Vinyl Tiles
- EN 1817 Rubber (smooth)
Products | EN 15804 EPD Specific | EN 15804 EPD Generic |
| Polysafe Astral PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Polysafe Mosaic PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Polysafe Corona PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Polysafe Vogue Ultra PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Polysafe Standard PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Polysafe Wood fx PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013211-E |
| Polysafe Wood fx Acoustix PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013311-E |
| Polysafe Modena PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Polysafe Arena PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Polysafe Hydro | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Polysafe Hydro Evolve | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Polysafe Strata | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Polysafe Ultima | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Ecomax | | EPD-ERF-2013611-E |
| Pearlazzo PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013111-E |
| 2000 PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013111-E |
| Classic Mystique PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013111-E |
| Mystique PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013111-E |
| Prestige PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013111-E |
| Standard XL | | EPD-ERF-2013111-E |
| XL PU | | EPD-ERF-2013111-E |
| Polyflex Plus PU | | EPD-ERF-2013111-E |
| Harmony fx PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013211-E |
| Forest fx PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013211-E |
| Mineral fx PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013211-E |
| Acoustix Harmony fx PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013311-E |
| Acoustix Forest fx PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013311-E |
| Acoustix Gallery fx PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013311-E |
| Secura | | EPD-ERF-2013411-E |
| Expona Design PUR | EPD-JHP-2013111-E | |
| Expona Commercial PUR | EPD-JHP-2013211-E | |
| Expona Control PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013511-E |
| Bevel Line PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013511-E |
| Camaro PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013511-E |
| Colonia PUR | | EPD-ERF-2013511-E |
| Rubber - Diamant | | EPD-ERF-2013711-E |