Sustainable Tiles

Specifying Sustainable Tiles For Commercial Projects

Sustainable tiles reduce the environmental impact of a floor or wall finish across its whole life, from raw material extraction and manufacture through to decades of use and end of life. For specifiers, the aim is to evidence that impact with verified data rather than rely on general eco-friendly claims.

The tiles in this collection are selected on that basis, with environmental data available to support project reporting. Browse sustainable wall tiles and sustainable floor tiles by design, format and finish.

What Makes A Tile Sustainable?

• Verified environmental data: an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) to EN 15804 reports a tile’s environmental impacts, including embodied carbon, based on an independently verified life cycle assessment.
• Recycled content: many porcelain and ceramic tiles include pre-consumer recycled material, such as production waste, which reduces demand for virgin raw materials. Some also include post-consumer material such as recycled glass.
• Manufacturing: lower-carbon production methods, such as reduced firing energy, renewable energy use and water recycling, cut a tile’s embodied carbon.
• Durability: porcelain is dense, hard wearing and resistant to staining and moisture. A long service life with minimal replacement spreads its embodied carbon over more years than shorter-lived finishes.
• Healthy interiors: fired ceramic and porcelain are inorganic and don’t emit VOCs once installed, which supports indoor air quality targets.

Sustainable Tiles And BREEAM

Under BREEAM, product-specific EPDs support Mat 01, which assesses the environmental impact of construction products through life cycle assessment. Responsible sourcing is assessed separately under Mat 03. Requesting EPDs and recycled content figures at selection stage, rather than at submission, avoids late substitutions. The same data also supports other schemes such as LEED, along with wider embodied carbon reporting.

What To Ask For When Specifying

• A current, independently verified EPD for the specific product rather than a generic industry average
• The recycled content percentage and whether it’s pre-consumer or post-consumer
• The manufacturing location, which affects transport emissions
• Expected service life and maintenance requirements
• End-of-life options, including reuse or recycling

Durability and maintenance also shape a tile’s cost over time. The guide to the whole life cost of tiles covers this in more detail. More on Parkside’s approach to sustainability is available separately.

Sustainable Tiles FAQs

Are porcelain tiles sustainable?

Porcelain carries embodied carbon from the energy used in firing. Its durability, low maintenance and long service life spread that impact across the life of a building. Choosing ranges with EPDs, recycled content and lower-carbon manufacturing reduces it further.

What is an EPD?

An Environmental Product Declaration is an independently verified document that reports a product’s environmental impacts across its life cycle, such as global warming potential, using a standard method. EPDs make it easier to compare products on a consistent basis. They’re used as evidence in BREEAM and other certification schemes.

Do recycled tiles perform as well as standard tiles?

Tiles with recycled content are manufactured and tested to the same standards as other ceramic and porcelain tiles, such as BS EN 14411. Check the technical data sheet for slip resistance, water absorption and other performance values, as you would for any tile.

What are eco-friendly tiles?

Eco-friendly tiles is a general term for tiles with a reduced environmental impact, typically through recycled content, lower-carbon manufacturing or a long service life. The term isn’t regulated. Look for an EPD and stated recycled content figures to back up any claim.