Natural Stone
The oldest
sustainable material


The oldest rocks on Earth have been dated at some 4 billion years old. The very mechanism of earth building is ultimately a continuous process of rock formation, consumption and sustainable re-generation. Natural stone used on construction projects provides the timeless
essence of solidity, quality and prestige and mirrors the basic mechanism of earth building as stone is worked for new build projects and subsequently reused with time. The ideal cradle to grave material.
But how can the true ‘sustainability’ of a material like stone be measured? How can you tell if the materials and components being specified for a project have a low environmental impact?
Green specifications are constantly changing as new materials are developed and our understanding of what it means to be sustainable evolves. Although the details of green specifications are not fixed, there is a general consensus that for a building to be sustainable it needs to use materials that: improve energy efficiency, reduce waste and pollution, conserve
natural resources such as water and wood, are non-toxic, use renewable energies and have a long life-span. Natural stone is typically one of these materials.
The Green Guide (online) www.thegreenguide.org.uk/ gives manufacturers and producers the opportunity to examine their environmental credentials and gives designers and
specifiers online access to a wealth of independent information. Components are rated on a system that reflects the best environmental performance/least environmental impact across the entire life cycle from ‘cradle to grave’, within comparable specifications. In general natural stone performs very well across a range of categories in which it is included in the Green Guide.
Stone rainscreen cladding generally performs as an ‘A’ or ‘A+’ rated component. In fact nearly half of all stone related components achieve an A or A+ rating and well over half are rated C or above.
Stone is therefore a truly sustainable material and merits its place in any sustainable development.
Category Element Type Element
Overall Rating Landscaping Landscaping: surfacing for pedestrian areas Cement mortar wet laid UK sandstone paving flags (29mm) with no sub-base A External walls
5a Cladding on timber framed construction (ex wall type 5a) UK produced natural slate on timber battens, breather membrane, plywood (temperate EN 636-2) sheathing, timber frame with insulation, vapour control layer, plasterboard on battens, paint A
External walls 5b Cladding on light steel framed construction (ex wall type 5b)
UK produced natural slate on timber battens, breather membrane, cement-bonded particle board sheathing, insulation,
light steel frame, vapour control layer, plasterboard on battens, paint
A External walls 5b Cladding on light steel framed construction (ex wall type 5b)
UK produced natural slate on timber battens, breather membrane, plywood sheathing, insulation, light steel frame,
vapour control layer, plasterboard on battens, paint A External walls 6 Cladding on loadbearing masonry (ex wall type 6) Handset limestone cladding and support, insulation, lightweight blockwork, plasterboard and paint A External walls 6 Cladding on loadbearing masonry (ex wall type 6) Limestone cladding and steel support, insulation, medium dense blockwork, plasterboard on battens, paint A
External walls 6 Cladding on loadbearing masonry (ex wall type 6) UK produced natural slate on timber battens, lightweight blockwork with cement mortar, insulation, plasterboard on battens, paint A
External walls 6 Cladding on loadbearing masonry (ex wall type 6) UK produced natural slate on timber battens, medium dense blockwork with cement mortar, insulation, plasterboard on battens, paint
A External walls 7.1a Rainscreen cladding on steel frame with block infill (ex wall type 7.1a) 50mm natural stone limestone, sandstone or slate panel and support system, breather membrane, insulation, structural steel frame, medium dense blockwork with cement mortar, plasterboard on battens, paint
A External walls 7.1a Rainscreen cladding on steel frame with block infill (ex wall type 7.1a) 50mm natural stone limestone, sandstone or slate panel and support system, structural steel frame, breather membrane, insulation, lightweight blockwork with cement mortar, plasterboard on battens, paintA
External walls 7.2a Rainscreen cladding on concrete frame with block infill (ex wall type 7.2a) 50mm natural stone limestone, sandstone or slate panel and support system, breather membrane, insulation, structural concrete frame, lightweight blockwork with cement mortar, plasterboard on battens, paint
A External walls 7.2a Rainscreen cladding on concrete frame with block infill (ex wall type 7.2a) 50mm natural stone limestone, sandstone or slate panel and support system, breather membrane, insulation, structural concrete frame, medium dense blockwork with cement mortar,plasterboard on battens, paint A External walls 7.3a Rainscreen cladding on masonry cavity wall (ex wall type 7.3a) UK produced natural slate on timber battens, lightweight block outer, insulation, aircrete block inner, plasterboard onbattens, paint A
External walls 7.3a Rainscreen cladding on masonry cavity wall (ex wall type 7.3a) UK produced natural slate on timber battens, lightweight blockwork cavity, insulation, plasterboard on battens, paint A External walls 7.3a Rainscreen cladding on masonry cavity wall (ex wall type 7.3a) UK produced natural slate on timber battens, medium dense block outer, insulation, aircrete block inner, plasterboard on battens, paint
A External walls
7.3a Rainscreen cladding on masonry cavity wall (ex wall type 7.3a) UK produced natural slate on timber battens, medium dense block outer, insulation, lightweight block inner, plasterboard on battens, paint
A External walls 7.4b Rainscreen cladding on load-bearing single-leaf block wall with timber stud infill (ex wall type 7.4b)
UK produced natural slate on timber battens, lightweight block outer, timber stud with insulation, polyethylene sheet,
plasterboard on battens, paint
A External walls 7.4b Rainscreen cladding on load-bearing single-leaf
block wall with timber stud infill (ex wall type 7.4b) UK produced natural slate on timber battens, medium dense block outer, timber stud with insulation, polyethylene
sheet, plasterboard on battens, paint
A External walls 7.4c Rainscreen cladding on load-bearing single-leaf block wall with metal stud infill (ex wall type 7.4b)
UK produced natural slate on timber battens, lightweight block outer, light steel frame (with insulation), polyethylene
sheet, plasterboard on battens, paint
A External walls 7.4c Rainscreen cladding on load-bearing single-leaf
block wall with metal stud infill (ex wall type 7.4b) UK produced natural slate on timber battens, medium dense block outer, light steel frame (with insulation), polyethylene
sheet, plasterboard on battens, paint
A Roofing Pitched Roof Steel Construction Galvanised steel rafters and joists with insulation, roofing underlay, counterbattens, battens and UK produced slate A Roofing Pitched Roof Timber Construction Structurally insulated timber panel system with OSB/3 each side, roofing underlay, counterbattens, battens and UK
produced slate A Roofing Pitched Roof Timber Construction
Structurally insulated timber panel system with plywood (temperate EN 636-2) each side, roofing underlay, counterbattens,
battens and UK produced slate
A Roofing Pitched Roof Timber Construction Timber trussed rafters and joists with insulation, roofing underlay, counterbattens, battens and UK produced slates A External walls
1 Brick or Stone and blockwork cavity wall (ex wall type 1) Limestone split faced outer leaf, insulation, dense blockwork inner leaf, cement mortar, plasterboard on battens and paint A+ External walls 1 Brick or Stone and blockwork cavity wall (ex wall type 1) Sandstone split faced outer leaf, insulation, dense blockwork inner leaf, cement mortar, plasterboard on battens, paint A+
External walls 5a Cladding on timber framed construction (ex wall
type 5a)
UK produced natural slate on timber battens, breather membrane, OSB/3 sheathing, timber frame with insulation,
vapour control layer, plasterboard on battens, paint
A+ External walls
5b Cladding on light steel framed construction (ex wall
type 5b) UK produced natural slate on timber battens, breather membrane, no sheathing, insulation, light steel frame, vapour
control layer, plasterboard on battens, paint
A+ External walls
5b Cladding on light steel framed construction (ex wall
type 5b) UK produced natural slate on timber battens, breather membrane, OSB/3 sheathing, insulation, light steel frame,
vapour control layer, plasterboard on battens, paint
A+
Landscaping Landscaping: surfacing for heavily trafficked areas Cement mortar wet laid imported Chinese granite setts (100mm) over prepared recycled sub-base B
External walls 6 Cladding on loadbearing masonry (ex wall type 6) Imported Chinese granite cladding and steel support, insulation, lightweight blockwork, plasterboard, paint B
External walls 6 Cladding on loadbearing masonry (ex wall type 6) Imported Chinese granite cladding and steel support, insulation, medium dense blockwork, plasterboard, paint B
External walls 6 Cladding on loadbearing masonry (ex wall type 6) Imported Italian marble cladding, insulation and steel support, lightweight blockwork, plasterboard, paint B
External walls 6 Cladding on loadbearing masonry (ex wall type 6)
Imported Italian marble cladding, insulation and steel support, medium dense blockwork, plasterboard on battens,
paint
B
External walls 6 Cladding on loadbearing masonry (ex wall type 6) Sandstone cladding and steel support, insulation, lightweight blockwork, plasterboard and paint B
External walls 6 Cladding on loadbearing masonry (ex wall type 6) Sandstone cladding and steel support, insulation, medium dense blockwork inner leaf, plasterboard and paint B
External walls
7.2c Rainscreen cladding on concrete frame with metal
stud infill (ex wall type 7.2c)
Imported Italian marble rainscreen cladding on stainless steel supports, breather membrane, insulation, structural
concrete frame, cement-bonded particle board, light steel frame, polyethylene sheet VCL, plasterboard on battens,
paint

Stone Federation Great Britain