Tiles That Support Green Building Certifications

Specifying materials with a strong sustainability profile is often central to achieving green building certification, whether for BREEAM or any other green building certification which now exists in the UK.

At Parkside, many of our tile ranges possess various environmentally friendly properties that align with the criteria used by various green building schemes. This includes the use of recycled content, low energy manufacturing processes and circular design principles.

If you are someone involved in the design or development of a building in the UK, this page sets out how material choices like tiles can contribute to certification targets.

How Can Tiles Support Sustainable Building Design?

Striving for a green building certification is an exciting prospect, but one which can require significant research when sourcing materials for the project.

However, tiles offer a practical route to sustainable specification because of the scale and versatility they can possess.

A single range can cover large areas of floor and wall, indoors and outdoors, reducing the number of different materials needed across a scheme and simplifying the environmental data a specifier has to assess.

Lots of material options exist; however porcelain and ceramic tiles are excellent choices as they are both durable and low maintenance. In turn, these properties extend service life and reduce the frequency of replacement, a factor that certification schemes such as BREEAM take into account under materials and life cycle impact.

Specification can also be matched closely to the environment. Slip resistance, frost resistance and load bearing performance can all be selected to suit the specific application, from a wet room to an external terrace, without switching material families. This flexibility allows sustainability credentials, technical performance and design intent to be met from within a single, coordinated product range.

Green Building Certifications in the UK

Material specification plays a role in almost every recognised green building certification, and tiles are no exception.

Whether you are already working towards a specific rating or are exploring what certification could mean for a future project, understanding the schemes most relevant to UK construction helps put material choices like tiling into context.

The following is an overview of the certifications and requirements UK specifiers are most likely to encounter. However, if you are working to achieve another green building scheme and would like advice on suitable tiling options, please get in touch.

BREEAM

BREEAM stands for the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method. It is the most widely used sustainability assessment method for buildings in the UK.

Developed by the Building Research Establishment, BREEAM assesses projects against categories including materials, energy, water, waste, pollution and management, with ratings ranging from Pass to Outstanding.

Many UK planning authorities and developers set a minimum BREEAM rating as a planning condition, making it the certification most UK specifiers will encounter directly.

LEED (UK)

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) originated in the United States. However, LEED principles are increasingly being incorporated in global projects, including here in the UK.

Specifically, where international consistency matters in the approach to sustainable building design. For instance, buildings occupied by multinational corporate tenants or funded by international investors.

It assesses similar categories to BREEAM, including materials and resources, energy and indoor environmental quality.

WELL Building Standard

WELL Building Standard focuses on occupant health and wellbeing rather than environmental impact alone, covering air quality, light, acoustics and material emissions. It is increasingly specified alongside BREEAM or LEED for UK office fit-out projects.

Additional Regulatory Requirements For Sustainable Building Development

EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) is a legal requirement rather than a voluntary certification. Under Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) regulations, commercial properties below a set EPC rating cannot generally be let, which makes energy performance a practical consideration on any UK refurbishment or fit-out project.

Home Quality Mark is BRE's residential equivalent to BREEAM, used on new build housing developments to demonstrate sustainability and build quality to buyers.

Material choices, including tile specification, contribute to several of these schemes at once. Recycled content and verified EPD data support materials and resource credits under both BREEAM and LEED, while low emission, low VOC products support indoor air quality requirements under WELL.

The Tile Ranges at Parkside That Could Support Your Sustainable Building Project

At Parkside, we have a dedicated sustainable tiles page where you can browse a wide selection of floor and wall tiles which could offer an ideal material selection for your green building project.

These collections span tiles which offer suitability for walls and floors including interior and exterior applications.

Product dependent, they can support your green building project in various ways, including:

• Ranges made from up to 97% recycled content
• Low energy manufacturing processes used in place of conventional high temperature firing
• Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) available to support materials credits and life cycle assessment
• Durable, low maintenance surfaces that extend service life and reduce replacement frequency
• Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, reducing the number of material types needed across a scheme
• Wide surface coverage from a single range, simplifying specification and environmental data assessment
• Eco-conscious packaging as standard
• Parent group commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030

Better still, choosing a sustainable tile does not mean accepting a narrower range of finishes or a drop in technical performance.

For instance, recycled content tiles are available across a wide range of colours, textures and formats, giving specifiers the same design flexibility as standard ranges.

Furthermore, other key performance properties such as slip resistance, durability and load bearing performance are also unaffected, meaning sustainability credentials can be built into a specification without limiting where or how a tile can be used.

To receive tailored advice about tiles for an upcoming green building certification or sustainable development, please get in touch with our team.

For now, here is a snapshot of some of our most popular sustainable tile ranges:

Mas

Mas by Alusid is made from between 95% and 97% recycled materials depending on colourway.

The ceramic tile sector generates an estimated 3 million tonnes of waste and 19 million tonnes of CO2e annually across Europe. To address this significant industry problem, Mas is produced using a low energy dry granulation process rather than conventional high temperature firing.

Dawson Mineral

Dawson Mineral replicates the character of Belgian Ardennes stone across a full porcelain range, with a brush-hammered surface, fine veining and a homogeneous grain.

Available in five colourways, fifteen sizes and two finishes, it spans floor, wall, countertop and outdoor use, allowing one specification to run from interior schemes through to external terraces.

Frost resistant and available in a 20mm outdoor thickness, the range combines low water absorption, high breaking strength and strong abrasion resistance. Recycled content rises to 20% in the outdoor format, supporting sustainable specification without compromising on aesthetic or performance.

Etilage

Etilage brings the warmth and character of sawn timber to a wood-effect porcelain tile, with a gentle relief texture and 30 patterns across each colourway for natural realism. Available in a large 1510x240mm plank format across four colours, Maple, Honey, Taupe and Brown, the range suits both wall and floor applications, indoors and outdoors.

With 37% recycled content and a published EPD, Etilage combines a high-performance, low-slip finish (+36 PTV) with a documented sustainability profile, giving specifiers a wood-look alternative that meets both design and environmental requirements.

Knighton

Knighton draws on traditional Victorian tile design, reworked across sixteen colourways and seven sizes to suit both period and contemporary schemes. The range includes Diamond and Triple Strip border and corner options, giving specifiers the flexibility to create detailed patterned floors across indoor and outdoor spaces.

With 36% recycled content and a published EPD, Knighton pairs a durable, high-slip-resistance porcelain (+36 PTV) with a documented sustainability profile, making it a practical choice where both heritage character and environmental credentials are part of the brief.

Please note: As mentioned above, a large selection of our tile ranges contain eco-friendly properties. Therefore, the above products are far from exhaustive! If you are looking for a specific tile type, style, colour or material, please explore our website or get in touch.

Talk to Us About Your Project

Whether you're an architect targeting a specific BREEAM rating or a designer who needs verified EPD data, our team can help. We can also assist if you are involved in procurement or contracts, looking to reduce the embodied impact of a specification. Whatever stage you're at, we can help you find the right sustainable tile solution for your project.

For any tile specification enquiries, please complete our contact form.

Or, to speak with our technicians directly please call us on 0116 276 2532.