Irish Green Building Council

Green building policy and training in Ireland

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • About
    • About IGBC
    • The Board
    • The Team
    • International
    • What is Green Building?
  • Membership
    • Benefits and Join
    • Construct Innovate
    • Our Members
    • Be an Active Member
  • Events
  • Education
    • Introduction to green building concepts
      • Embodied Carbon
      • Circularity
      • Nearly Zero Energy Building standard
    • Whole Life Carbon Training
    • Home Performance Index Assessor Training
    • Commercial Certification – LEED & BREEAM
      • LEED Courses
      • BREEAM Courses
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Learning Hub
    • On-demand Hybrid eLearning Courses
  • Certification
    • Home Performance Index
    • Green Building Certification – Commercial
      • LEED
      • BREEAM
      • EXEED
    • Green Building Certifiers
    • Energy Renovation Advisors
    • EPD – Construction Products
    • Water Label
    • Level(s)
  • Policy
    • National Policy Submissions
    • European Policy
      • European Policy Updates
    • Endorse the Roadmap
    • Energy Renovation
      • Building Renovation Passports
      • Retrofit Skills
      • Standards
      • Supporting Local Authorities
      • One Stop Shop Renovation
    • Green Finance Green Homes
  • Publications
  • News
    • Green Jobs
    • IGBChats
    • #BuildingLife Blog
  • Learning Hub
  • Log In

#WaterMatters: how bathroom retailers can communicate water efficiency to consumers and lead the change

Research has shown that consumer attitudes have changed over the last 12 months.  The Covid pandemic has had a huge impact, not only on how much time people now spend at home but also in terms of their views on environmental responsibility and climate change. There is a growing interest in products that can help save water and energy, helping keep household bills down and contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle.

A recent survey by The Bathroom Manufacturers Association revealed that consumers would like to make better purchasing decisions but lack the knowledge to do so.  The survey found that half of those surveyed would like to improve their household water efficiency (55%), and state it influences their purchasing decision (51%).  The survey also reported that four in ten adults are not sure how to improve the water efficiency in their home (41%) and three in ten (28%) don’t know how much water they use daily.

These results clearly illustrate that retailers could benefit by providing this information to the consumer.

That’s why we are launching the #WaterMatters campaign, calling for retailers to communicate the importance of water efficiency to consumers.

Download the leaflet

The good news is there is a huge selection of innovative products that are designed to use water wisely, without compromising on quality.  Retailers do not have to compromise on design or performance when selecting environmentally friendly products to promote to their customers. Many of Europe’s most well-known and well respected brands offer bathroom products that carry the UWL, Unified Water Label, providing taps, showers and toilets that use water wisely and offer great choice to the consumer. You can find them here.

Table of Contents

  • What is the Unified Water Label?
  • Why does it matter?
  • What products are covered?
  • Who supports it?
  • Why should retailers support it?
  • What should you do?
  • How do you know if a product is water efficient and doesn’t have a Water Label?
    • The water calculator
    • BREEAM, Home Performance Index, LEED and EU Taxonomy

What is the Unified Water Label?

The Unified Water Label is a European wide initiative by companies involved in the bathroom industry. It’s a smart tool that provides a means to identify water using products with a common label that offers clear, concise and easy to understand messaging about water energy usage.

Here you can download a guide that explains how the Unified Water Label should be displayed when being used on all printed and electronic media and any other applications.

Why does it matter?

Consumers need to be aware of efficient bathroom products that work with their water and heating systems, that they are fit for purpose and deliver no less performance but use less water and energy

What products are covered?

The UWL includes 14 different categories for water using bathroom products that cover:

  • Shower heads
  • Shower control
  • Taps
  • WC suits
  • Baths

Who supports it?

Hundreds of registered brands support the label, promoting it on their websites, in their newsletters, magazines and adverts. Consumers are seeking sustainability and environmental information and are now looking for the label, making it a strong marketing tool. In addition, over 10000 architects and specifiers use the database of products on a regular basis for new projects across the globe

Why should retailers support it?

Retailers can play an important role in educating consumers and bringing these products to their attention.

What should you do?

  • Train your staff to understand and communicate water efficiency. We are offering online courses on water efficiency. Please visit our events page to find upcoming courses
  • Display the water label on the products you are selling
  • Speak with your suppliers to ensure the products are registered on the label scheme: it will help to increase awareness and necessity but also stop rogue traders from using the label when they shouldn’t. Suppliers can register here.

Get ahead of your competition and support our campaign! Show your support by posting this card on social media with the hashtag #WaterMatters. Don’t forget to tag our social media pages: Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Example of social media post to support #WaterMatters Campaign

 

More info: https://uwla.eu/

Watch this video!

How to register a product

How do you know if a product is water efficient and doesn’t have a Water Label?

The water calculator

 The water calculator is designed for anyone involved in the development of new homes, e.g. developers, Housing Associations and others. It is designed make it quicker and easier to comply with the water aspect of Building Regulations and/or sustainability certification. The Water Calculator contains information on water consumption for hundreds of products, enabling quick and easy specification. For products not on the list you can also enter data manually. See here for more information: http://www.thewatercalculator.org.uk/default.asp

Water consumption can be also estimated using this SEAI’ DEAP Water efficiency Calculation tool .

BREEAM, Home Performance Index, LEED and EU Taxonomy

The main Environmental Assessment Methods for New Construction in Ireland, BREAAM, Home Performance Index and LEED all have minimum mandatory requirements with regard potable water use. The EU taxonomy is a classification system, establishing a list of environmentally sustainable economic activities.

They all use different methods for measuring and calculating water efficiency which are summarised in the table below. Further reference should be made to the technical manuals in the links below

BREEAM (Maximum flow/flush rates) Home Performance Index (HPI) – Maximum water use aggregate 125l/person/day LEED (Maximum flow/flush rates + 20% reduction on aggregate consumption) EU Taxonomy (Maximum flow/flush rates)
WC

(litres / flush)

12

6/4 *

6

6

Wash hand basin taps (litres / min)

12

6 *

1.9 public
8.3 private

6

Showers

(litres / min)

14

9 *

9.5

8

Baths

(litres)

200

170 *

Not available

Not available

Kitchen Taps

(litres / min)

12

9 *

8.3

6

*The figures for Home Performance Index are indicative as the calculation does not set maximum flush/flow but focuses on the overall consumption figure.

Links:

  • https://www.breeam.com/BREEAMInt2016SchemeDocument/#08_water/wat01_nc.htm
  • homeperformanceindex.ie
  • https://www.usgbc.org/credits/new-construction-core-and-shell-data-centers-new-construction-warehouse-and-distribution-0?view=language&return=/credits/New%20Construction/v4.1/Water%20efficiency
  • https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:d84ec73c-c773-11eb-a925-01aa75ed71a1.0021.02/DOC_2&format=PDF

Download a printable version of this information here.

We are interested to hear from you! How do you currently communicate water efficiency? Do you get customer queries about this issue? Do you think the industry could do more in this regard? Let us know what you think! Get in touch!

Chadwick and Sonas Bathroom have already joined our campaign.

Supported by This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 framework programme for research and innovation under grant agreement No 892894.
In collaboration with

 

 


become a
member

or find out more

IGBC on Twitter

  • The RSS feed for this twitter account is not loadable for the moment.

Follow @IrishGBC on twitter.

CARBON DESIGNER FOR IRELAND

CARBON DESIGNER FOR IRELAND

A free early-stage whole life cycle carbon assessment tool for Ireland.

Home Performance Index

Home Performance Index

Best quality, national and international standards, healthy, low carbon homes. From design to build, the Home Performance Index represents a first in Irish residential development certification.

Log In


Lost Password?

Related Content

  • Upskilling for Energy Efficiency

     

  • Join IGBC Now!

    Demonstrate your commitment to a sustainable built environment by joining the IGBC today

     

  • Be an Active Member

     

IGBC

The Irish Green Building Council is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee registered in Ireland. Registered Number: 492948.
Registered Office: 19 Mountjoy Square East, Dublin 1.

Director(s): Refer to About Us pages.

Phone: (01) 6815862 & Email: [email protected]

INFO

  • Membership
  • About
  • Contact
  • News
  • Events
  • Learning Hub
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe to our Email List

Sign up to get all the latest news on events, policy documents and training opportunities from IGBC.

Copyright © 2023 · igbc · Log in

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. ACCEPT Cookie settings
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT

User Login

Not registered? Lost your password?

User LostPassword

Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log in

Search igbc.ie