GREEN CHOICE PHILIPPINES

FIBER-CEMENT BOARD

I. ENVIRONMENTALSCENARIO

ln the Philippines, the use of environment-friendly alternative building materials hasremarkably gained its ground in the construction business. Such materials that offerunique strength, stability and versatility in its applications have significantly become anecessity in choosing and buying the product.

Fiber cement-based board is fast becoming a favorite material in the constructionindustry. lt has found its applications in domestic housing needs as well as forcommercial building construction. These products are largely found in non-structuralcomponents that include wall siding, flooring, ceiling and roofing materials.

It is a composite materiaf made of sand, cement and cefiufose_fiberS. As a cellulose-fiber based composite, it offers distinct advantages in terms of: availability of cellulosefibers from renewable resource, high fiber tensile strength and modulus of elasticiff,relatively low cost and well'developed technology to extract the fibers. As a cement-based composite material, it offers decay and fire resistance, dimensional stability,"nailability'', and good mechanical properties among other properties.

As elaimed by its manufaeturers, it is envirsnment-friendly and asbestos-free, lt alsoboasts of being able to recover and utilize waste materials like natural fibers and fly ash,reduce its emissions during manufacturing operations, conserve and preserve theenvironment through the efficient utllization of water, energry and other resources.

II. DEFINITION OF TERMS

Asbeslos - means the fibrous forms of varieties of mineral siliertes belonging to rockforming minerals of the serpentine group, i.e. chrysolite (white asbestos); and theamphibole group i.e. actinolite, amosite (brown asbestos, cummingtonitegrunerite),anthophyflite, crocidotite (blue asbestos) and tremofite (DENR - Administrative OrderNo. 02 Series of 2000)

Cellulose fiberlVirgin pulp - is a fibrous material separated from wood or other plantmaterial by chemical or mechanical means for the manufacture of fiber cement board.

Gement - a powdery substance made by processing, at a high temperature, a mixtureof clay and limestone producing lumps called "clinkers" which are ground into a finepowder consisting of hydraulic caleium silicates.

DAO 2005-27 Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)

Administrative Order No. 27, Series of 2005, which provides for the listing of the"Revised Priority Chemical List" as stated in RA 6969 otherwise known as "Toxic

Substances and Hazardous and Nuctear Vt'astes Control Ast of 199ff .

DAO 2000-02 Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)Administrative Order No. 02, Series of 2000 (The Chemical Control Order for Asbestos)

Fiber-cement board - is a composite material made of sand, cement and cellulosefibers.

Hatchek process - is a manufacturing process to make fiber-cement board. ln thisprocess, the aqueous slurry is dewatered on sieve rolls and transported along a feltconveyor where further water is removed by vacuum.

Post-Consumer $olid Wastes - are waste materials generated by households, or bycommercial, and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product, whichcan no longer be used for its intended purpose.

Pre-Consumer Recycled Vllastes - are materials diverted from the waste streamduring a manufacturing process.

Republic Act (RA) 6969 - "Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear WastesControlAct of 1990'

Recycled fiber- is any fibrous material that has already undergone a manufacturingprocess and is being recycled as a raw material for another manufactured product (i.e.,

fiber-cement board).

$ustainably-managed forest - is a forest managed to meet all existing regulationssuch that environmental, social and economic factors are balanced to meet the needs ofthe present generation without compromising the abili$ of future generations to meettheir needs.

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These criteria shall appty to fiber-cement boards.

IV.GREEN CHOICE CRITERIA

To carry the Green Choice Philippines Seal of Approval, the product shall meet the

following requirements:

GREEN CHOICE PHILIPPINESREQUIREMENTS

EVALUATION AND VALIDATIONMETHOD

Product Qualrty Pertormance

The product shall comply with therequirements of the relevant PhilippineNational Standard (PNS) or in its absence,shall comply with the applicablelnternational Product Standard for fiber-cement boards (eg. ISO 8336 and ASTMc1186)

The applicant shall submit a certified truecopy of the independent audit or testreports conducted by recognized and/oraccredited laboratories confirming that theproduct conforms to relevant lnternationalProduct Standards, i.e., ASTM C1186, ISO8336.

E nv I ro n me ntal Requ i rements

lf the product is a cellulose fiber-cementbased material, it shall contain fiberssourced from a sustainably managedforest.

The applicant shall submit evidences orany verifrabfe doeuments as a proof thatthe cellulose pulp was sourced from asustai nably-managed forest.

lf the product is a recycled fiber-cementbased material, it shall contain rawmaterials from recycled wastes, both forpost consumer and pre-con$umer sources.Post-consumer and pre-consumerrecycled wastes shall not be less than 3%.

The applicant shall submit a copy of thecertificate that shows the designspecifications indicating the schedule forraw materials making up of Post consumerand Pre-consumer wastes and shall not beless than 3%.

The product shall nst esntain asbestosorland any other toxic and hazardoussubstances as stipulated in the law (suchae RA 6969, DENR AO 2005-27, DENRAO 2000-02 or its equivalent).

The applieant shall submit a eertifred truecopy of the reporUs of test lanalysisconducted indicating/confirming that theproduct conforrns to DENR regulations onprohibited toxic substances and hazardouswastes, as stipulated in RA 6969 and itsrelevant rutes and regulations or itseouivalent. The reouired laboratoru tesUs

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shall be performed by recognized and/oraccredited laboratories.

ln-plant water recycling and reuse shall bethoroughly implemented in themanufacturing process, utilizing at least50% of its processed water.

The applicant shall submit a self-certification duly signed by the company'sproduction manager or its equivalent thatthe manufacturing process is utilizing atleast 50% of its processed water. lt shallalso submit a copy of documentationoutlining how the use of processed wateris recycled and managed.

The applicant shall submit a mass balancedetailing water consumption, recycling orreuse and signed by the accreditedPollution Control Officer/any registeredengineer, preferably chemical ormechanical enoineer or its eouivalent.

Air emissions and wastewater dischargefrom the plant shall comply with therequirements of the relevant environmentalstandards of the Philippines and/or thecountry of its origin.

The applicant shall submit a copy ofapplicable licenses and permits to operateindicating the company's compliance toexisting environmental laws andregulations.

ln case of imported raw materials orproducts, the applicant shall submit acertification, in English, from theEnvironment Ministry or Department of thecountry where the producUs is/aremanufactured that states that themanufacture of the producUs has compliedwith their air emissions and effluentstandards.

Product handling, storage, transport,distribution and disposal activlties shall bein compliance with the relevanUapplicableenvironmental and occupational healthand safety laws and policies,

The applicant shall submit a copy of thecertificate/s issued by authorizedagency/institution indicating its compliancewith the relevant environmental (such asbut not limited to handling, storage,distribution and disposal plan, includingcontract with an accredited or legitimateTSD facility) and occupational health andsafetv laws and policies.

V. References:

Bezerra, EM, AP Joaquim and H Savatano Jr. 2004. Some Properties of Fiber-CementComposites with Selected Fibers

DENR Administrative Order 20Q5-27: Revised Priority Chemical List

Der Blaue Engel. 2010. Low-emission Cornposite Wood Panels. RAL-UZ 76

Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). 1999. An Evaluation Guide forEnvironmental Projects in the Cement lndustry.

Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). 1999. An Evaluation Guide forEnvironmental Projects in the Pulp and Paper lndustry.

Green Label Singapore. Products Made From Recvcled/Renewable Fibers (Non Food

Related) (GLS-035). http://www.sec.org.sglawards/green label/criterion

Green Label Singapore. Panel Boards/ Wallboard for lnteriors (GL$-041)http://Www.sec. org.ss/awards/greenlabefc(iterion

Good Environmental Choice Australia. 2010. Panel Boards. GECA 04 - 2O1A 2.0

Mohr, B.J. N.H. El-Ashkar and K.E. Kurtis. Fiber Cement Composites for Housing

Construction : State-of-the-Art Review.www. ce. gatech. edu/peoplelfacul$ff0 1 /reports

Nordic Ecolabelling of Panels for the building, decoration and furniture industries01015.0 Draft for comment 3 August 2010

Republic Act 6969: Toxic Substances, Hazardous and Nuclear Waste ControlAct of1990.

Vl. Panel Review Committee Members

1. Araceli M. Monsada, Ph.D. (Chairperson)Material Science Divisionlndustrial Technology and Development lnstituteDepartment of Science and Technology

2. Cesar O. Austria (Member)Forest Product Research and Development lnstituteDepartment of Science and Technology

3. Myra Magabilin (Member)Bureau of Product StandardsDepartment of Trade and lndustry

4. Ma. Fatima R. Molina (Member)Environmental Management BureauDepartment of Environment and Natural Resources