Opting for environmentally sound construction materials

When targeting a maximum of safety, steps to protect the environment and people's health also have to be planned in at an early stage. HOCHTIEF put this principle into practice by setting itself the following environmental objectives:
  • Efficient and sustainable use of natural resources
  • Avoid adding pollutants to the indoor air by using only low-emission, low-pollutant and low-odor construction materials
  • Avoid, wherever possible, the use of construction materials that contain halogen
  • Maximize low-waste processing methods that do not involve pollutants

The screening system

Materials that traditionally do not or are not expected to produce harmful emissions or troublesome odors are put on an "approved" list; then, appropriate documentation is added to the construction material file. Examples include mineral building materials and plastics that are free of halogen and plasticizers. If harmful emissions in specific building products cannot be ruled out, the consultants help both construction management and the persons planning to use the materials find suitable alternative products.
If there is a possibility that the alternative materials could produce odors or harmful emissions, they are assessed on a comparative basis. The product with the lowest emission levels is approved when the list of low-emission construction materials does not contain a product that is technically equivalent but generates fewer emissions.

Procedure for the submission, screening and approval of building materials

HOCHTIEF Construction AG and the engineering consultancy bring the subcontractors on board in this process. Subcontractors must submit in advance the latest safety data sheets or technical documentation for all proposed building materials to the construction manager for evaluation. Using methods that allow verification, HOCHTIEF documents the screening process and the properties of the individual construction materials in a file that is always accessible.