January 2024

Product Information
HOW CAN MANUFACTURERS
PROVIDE BETTER PRODUCT INFO?
It’s not uncommon to read reports that construction product information is hard to find,
or that performance claims are made which can’t be verified. If the construction products
sector is to do better, collaboration can help to achieve a common understanding about
what is and isn’t good practice. As Rob Firman – Technical and Specification Manager at
Polyfoam XPS – highlights in this article, a good start is sharing successes and failures.
It is more than five years since Dame Judith
Hackitt’s independent review of building
regulations and fire safety was published. In
that time, the government and the construction
industry have begun implementing the review’s
recommendations, through new legislation and
initiatives aimed at addressing areas such as
competence and construction product information.
An independent review of the construction
product testing regime has also taken place. In
the introduction to the review, Dame Judith
Hackitt herself writes: “It should be
self-evident to everyone that we need
products which do the job they are
expected to do and are marketed
honestly and transparently…”
Such a sentiment doesn’t just apply to
building safety. Sustainability and environmental
impact have never been more prominent.
Specifiers, purchasers and installers need
product manufacturers to provide clear and
accurate information that helps them make
informed decisions.
What are the challenges around
construction product information?
Widely reported in the construction media, NBS’s
‘What Specifiers Want’ report was published in
2023. Among its findings was that nearly half of
construction professionals said it isn’t easy to
find information about products’ safety
performance and sustainability.
This is despite a significant majority of
Left: Rob Firman, Technical and Specification Manager at Polyfoam XPS.
“90% of those surveyed identified
greenwash as a problem”
Futurebuild and the Anti-Greenwash Charter survey
respondents, unsurprisingly, wanting to see thirdparty
accreditation and environmental product
declarations (EPDs).
In a separate survey carried out by Futurebuild
and the Anti-Greenwash Charter, nearly 90% of
those surveyed identified greenwash as a
problem. Half of respondents said they had been
in face-to-face discussions where unverifiable
claims were made about the environmental
performance of a product.
Organisations are finding ways to tackle these
issues, such as by simply asking more challenging
questions of manufacturers, or having specific
policies in place about only choosing products
when performance claims can be verified.
How can product manufacturers help to
reduce these challenges?
There is an obvious answer to this question,
which is simple in theory but difficult in practice:
be open and transparent about your products,
and honest about their performance.
Why is this difficult in practice? Because most
manufacturers have extensive product ranges.
And if they offer systems of components, then
there might be even more potential variations in
the available solutions.
Then factor in the number of different people the
manufacturer employs, and their different levels
of knowledge to perform their different roles. Also
factor in the number of different places where the
40 TC JANUARY 2024