NSC Supports Green Concept

COLD SPRING, Minn. – The Natural Stone Council (NSC) gave its support early last month to fund participation in, and raise awareness of, the environmentally-friendly Green Building Movement.
“Stone is a natural product, and we felt that it would be important for the Natural Stone Council, as representatives of the industry, to do all we can to help educate and promote stone as an environmentally-friendly building and landscape material,” said John Mattke, chairman of the NSC’s Committee on Sustainability.
“Real stone, the world’s oldest building material, is enjoying unprecedented growth in both the residential and commercial segments,” he added.
Mattke, president and COO of Cold Spring Granite Co. headquartered here, said stone offers environmentally-friendly building and design attributes, including its standing as a natural product; an enduring life-cycle; ease and care of maintenance; recyclability; and best practices in quarrying and manufacturing.
The short and long-term goals of the NSC are to provide documented, factual information on the overall benefits of natural stone, and position natural stone as a material that supports green awareness, initiatives and certifications. A major component of the program will be promotion and education aimed at the natural-stone, design, construction and landscape industries.
The NSC also joined the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) of Washington D.C., formed in 1993 with the goal of advancing more sustainable building practices. The wide-ranging membership of USGBC includes architects, engineers, designers, consultants, contractors, builders, product manufacturers, non-profit and environmental organizations.
Mattke explained that, until fall 2005, trade associations were unable to join the USGB and unable to provide the kinds of support materials that helped position products they represent as worthy of green consideration. Since then, nearly three-dozen construction- and materials-related associations have joined the organization.
In addition, the NSC committee is organizing an advisory council made up of architects, designers, specification writers and others with an intimate knowledge of natural stone and its uses in building and landscaping, Mattke said.
Finally, NSC will undertake testing and research to support and increase Natural Stone’s contribution to LEED Certification points. Some examples of green testing opportunities include life-cycle assessment, life-cycle cost and reclamation activities/benefits.
Other members of the Committee on Sustainability include Kathy Spanier, also of Cold Spring Granite; Quade Weaver of Texastone Quarries; Dan Ouellette and Bill Eubank of Luck Stone Corp.; and Alex Bachrach of Stone World.
Duke Pointer, NSC executive director and member representative to the USGBC, noted that the stone-industry group was formed in 2003 to promote the value and unique benefits of natural stone, and to design and implement solutions to marketplace misconceptions about natural versus engineered stone.
“NSC is made up of a diverse group of stone-industry businesses and trade associations,” Pointer said. “Participation in the green movement is right in line with the Council’s mission to raise the level of awareness and education of natural stone in the North American market.”