FAQ - Frequently asked questions
Find the answer to your question in the frequently asked questions about Building Material Scout. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please contact us.
About us
What added value does Building Material Scout have for clients, architects, planners and construction companies?
- a planning tool with an integrated, intelligent building product database
- an advisory tool for selecting suitable products with a focus on healthy, sustainable materials
- Simple construction project documentation at the touch of a button that is compatible with common green building certification systems
- Germany-wide workshops on the use of the database in construction projects
- Time savings in product research and verification management
- Planning security for green building projects
- Free use of the database
What added value does Building Material Scout have for building product manufacturers?
Building Material Scout offers …
- a unique assessment service that provides the right queries and an automated classification according to common sustainability standards (currently: LEED and DGNB, planned: BREEAM, Well, Cradle to Cradle)
- Automatic updates when new assessments are introduced (new certification versions)
- an interface to the product information management systems (PIM) of the product manufacturers -> no duplicate data maintenance
Your advantages:
- Increasing customer satisfaction by providing product-related building ecology certificates in acquisition and sales
- Effective, customer-oriented and customer-oriented product placement
- You keep track of the certification jungle
What are the costs for using Building Material Scout?
Registration and use of the database is free of charge. The publication of products and data is subject to a fee for manufacturers. We will be happy to send you our offer for the respective service packages on request. Contact us via service@building-material-scout.com.
How can I register?
How can I change my password? What should I do if I have forgotten my password?
Service
Product database
Why a product database for sustainability?
A bewildering array of product labels, building certificates and material declarations makes it almost impossible for building owners and planners to keep track of everything. Product manufacturers are constantly confronted with various requests for certificates and declarations. Recently, the search for product-related BIM objects and life cycle assessment data has also been added.
Our mission with Building Material Scout is to provide easy access to healthy, intelligent and sustainable materials and building products for all those involved in construction – financiers, investors, builders, project developers, architects, planners, construction companies and operators. We are convinced that we are making a significant contribution to better building quality with healthier and environmentally friendly spaces for people.
What information is stored in the product database?
Find building ecology and BIM information on all listed building products:
- Building certification systems DGNB, LEED, BREEAM
- Eco-labels (natureplus, Cradle to Cradle, …)
- Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)
- Recycling
- Pollutants
- Ingredients
- emissions
- …
How can I use the database for projects?
Find a project-specific selection of healthy and sustainable building products according to your project requirements:
- Finding the right products for building certification systems
- Creation of object documentation of the materials used
- Evaluations with regard to LCA, recycling etc. (development from 2018)
How is the data verified?
Manufacturer portal
What is the manufacturer portal?
Manufacturers receive access and can use it to post products and data on www.building-material-scout.com:
- Create and manage your own products
- Upload of product data sheets
- Data exchange via Excel files
- Setting CAD and BIM files
- Carrying out product assessments in accordance with the material requirements of DGNB, LEED, BREEAM
How can I register as a manufacturer?
Are you a product manufacturer? Get your manufacturer access here.
Which products can be discontinued?
All products used in connection with the construction and operation of buildings can be placed on Building Material Scout.
The listed products cover a range of paints, adhesives, sealants, coatings, floor coverings, wood-based materials, renewable raw materials, partition wall systems, flooring systems, doors, mineral building materials, insulation materials and many other products.
If you cannot find a product type or material, we will be happy to create it for you.
Assessment Service
What is the Assessment Service?
Building Material Scout offers a unique assessment service that provides the right queries and an automated classification according to common sustainability standards (currently: DGNB, LEED and BREEAM).
Can manufacturers have their products certified by DGNB, LEED or BREEAM?
No. DGNB, LEED and BREEAM do not certify products. The DGNB, LEED and BREEAM systems are building certification systems and not product assessment systems such as the Blue Angel.
Nevertheless, the building certification systems set product requirements in some criteria that go beyond the legal standards. In this case, the manufacturer must prove in the project that its products meet these criteria. This is done through self-declarations or certificates (e.g. VOC, recycled content, origin of materials, FSC, Green Label Plus, etc.). If he can provide this information and evidence, he gains a competitive advantage. With its specially developed assessment service and declarations, Building Material Scout offers an ideal platform for covering several certification systems – currently DGNB, LEED and BREEAM – and reaching customers in a targeted manner.
What criteria are considered?
We concentrate on the building product-relevant criteria from the DGNB, LEED and BREEAM systems, which cause the greatest problems in certification projects. On request, we can also create additional criteria with Building Material Scout.
LEED Building Design and Construction 2009:
- IEQ Credit 4.1 Low Emitting Materials – Adhesives and Sealants
- IEQ Credit 4.2 Low Emitting Materials – Paints and Coatings
- IEQ Credit 4.3 Low Emitting Materials – Flooring Systems
- IEQ Credit 4.4 Low Emitting Materials – Composite Wood and Agrifber Products
- MR Credit 4: Recycled Content
- MR Credit 5: Regional Materials
- MR Credit 6: Rapidly Renewable Materials
- MR Credit 7: Certified Wood
LEED Building Design and Construction V4 (2015):
- MR Credit Building Product Disclosure and Optimization (BPDO) – Environmental Product Declarations
- MR Credit Building Product Disclosure and Optimization (BPDO) – Sourcing of Raw Materials
- MR Credit Building Product Disclosure and Optimization (BPDO) – Material Ingredients
- EQ Credit Low-Emitting Materials
DGNB NBV 2015:
- ENV 1.1 Life cycle assessment – Emission-related environmental impacts
- ENV 1.2 Risks to the local environment
- ENV 1.3 Environmentally compatible material extraction
- ENV 2.1 Life cycle assessment – primary energy
DGNB Building New Construction 2018:
- ENV 1.1 Life cycle assessment of the building
- ENV 1.2 Risks to the local environment
- ENV1.3 Responsible resource extraction
BREEAM International New Construction 2016:
- Hea 02 Indoor air quality
- Hea 02 Indoor air quality – Exemplary Level
- Mat 03 Responsible sourcing of construction products
Traffic
How many products are listed?
Over 33,000 products are already published on Building Material Scout.