International Natural Stone Sustainability Advanced

VERONA, Italy – Efforts to recognize natural stone worldwide as a sustainable building product moved forward here last month with a meeting of stone associations from around the globe.

The Natural Stone Strategic Alliance (NSSA) brought together European, North American and South American groups during Marmomac 2024 to discuss strategy, including the publication of region-specific Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) on natural stone.

Representatives from 12 associations worldwide agreed to participate in the Global EPD Collaboration initiative, advancing regional publication of the documents in phases – with the goal of a global EPD to debut in early 2026.

EPDs present information on the lifecycle of a given product to help in the understanding of the environmental impact, differentiate it from other products on the market, and demonstrate a commitment to limiting environmental impacts.

The natural stone EPDs will seek to advance natural stone as a low-carbon building material and strengthen the industry’s position within the building sector, particularly as global efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions to combat climate change intensify.

Initial research into the life cycle impacts of natural stone production has demonstrated its low global warming potential. With growing pressure to reduce emissions, natural stone stands out as a sustainable option compared to alternative materials, which often involve more complex manufacturing processes, multiple ingredients, and potential health hazards.

“The design community is increasingly focused on combatting climate change, and the natural stone industry has a significant opportunity to position itself as a sustainable choice,” said Sarah Gregg, sustainability leader for the USA-based Natural Stone Institute and meeting facilitator. “The Global EPD Collaboration initiative is a critical step toward showcasing the industry’s commitment to sustainability on a global scale.

“By pooling our resources and expertise, we can establish the quantified data sets and messaging needed for stone to be recognized as a solution for reducing the embodied carbon of building projects worldwide.”

Given that several of the attending organizations have experience with environmental reporting, the NSSA is well-positioned to establish best practices on data collection, member company engagement, and effective marketing strategies.

At the meeting, representatives from 10 countries committed to participating in the Global EPD Collaboration initiative. The next steps involve reaching out to additional countries and encouraging their involvement. Each participating association will appoint a local program operator to contribute to this effort, beginning with submitting feedback on a draft PCR Guidance document. The goal is for the global natural stone EPD report to be ready for distribution in early 2026.

The following associations have already committed to participating in the Global EPD Collaboration:

• Brazil: Centrorochas
• Portugal: Assimagra
• United Kingdom: Stone Federation of Great Britain
• Finland: Kivi
• Italy: Confindustria Marmomacchine
• Turkey: Aegean Mineral Exporters Association (EMIB)
• Greece: Greek Marble Association
• Germany: Deutscher Naturwerkstein-Verband
• Spain: Cluster del Granito, Marmol de Alicante, and Centro Tecnológico del Mármol
• United States: Natural Stone Institute

“Confindustria Marmomacchine is extremely pleased for the outcomes of the meeting and for the very good attendance by the main national sector associations around the world,” said Flavio Maribelli, honorary president and leader of the Italian stone materials/technology group. “They are committed to bringing to term, in the agreed-upon timing, their national EPD and afterwards work together to verify the opportunity and feasibility of creating a global EPD for stone materials.

“A further reason for satisfaction with the meeting was the decision to broaden the number of national associations participating in the Natural Stone Strategic Alliance (NSSA) and above all to have decided on the formal constitution of an entity of global representation, a permanent organization that brings on board all the sector associations worldwide to deal together with any issue of obvious strategic importance for the world’s stone industry, starting from the global EPD.”

The Natural Stone Strategic Alliance (NSSA) is an alliance of trade associations working together on key industry initiatives and creating opportunities for collaboration on a variety of topics. Past issues of focus have included strategies for increasing natural=stone preference in the North American market.

For more information on the associations leading this alliance, visit the following websites:

Natural Stone Institute: naturalstoneinstitute.org
Confindustria Marmommacchine: assomarmomacchine.com
Centrorochas : centrorochas.org.br/en/
Assimagra : assimagra.pt/en/home