The
Eco-Materials Group The
Eco-Materials Group The EMG is a research, education and consulting group committed to the use of information as a tool for community and ecological regeneration. We have two prime mandates:
1.
To make information available on the environmental
impact of construction materials— to builders, designers, consumers, retailers,
educators and regulators. This work supports both environmental quality
and the development of green enterprise in this region.
2. To provide
information to citizens, organizations, and governments on the application
of ecological design principles to economic development. We are well-connected
with the cutting-edge of green economic alternatives in every sector of
the economy.
Originally a non-profit research
project of Toronto’s Urban Environment Centre, the EMG is now a private
firm comprised of builders, architects, engineers and researchers—all environmentalists
who see their work
as ecological restoration. We firmly believe in the potential of green
enterprise to effect real community development. This requires a fundamental
change in our relationship to Nature’s materials, drastically reducing
materials use, and using materials which are benign for both human and
environmental health.
The built-environment is responsible for about 40 per cent of materials
throughput in the North American economy. In addition, built-environment
(including community) design is one of the most important factors shaping
materials and energy consumption throughout the economy. The built-environment,
therefore, plays an especially strategic role in creating an ecological
economy.
At the core of our work is the EMG Building Materials Database, which will soon be available on computer disk, CD-ROM, hard copy, and, eventually, on our Internet site. Related to this building materials information, we offer research, consulting and educational services, for professionals and non-professional groups alike. The EMG recognizes that our most basic environmental problems can never be solved by purely technical means. Thus, it is impossible to separate questions of materials use from the larger context of how materials are used and why they are used. For this reason, our work also involves larger questions of green economic development. We do research, consulting and educational work. We are integrated into the network of green economic development in this region, including the Coalition for a Green Economic Recovery, the Energy Action Council of Toronto, the Green Communities Initiatives, the Labour Council of Metro Toronto & York Region, the Green Work Alliance, and various other groups.
The
Eco-Materials Database is a listing of building materials which we have
found to be the best available for the Oak Ridges (or Toronto area) bioregion
of the Great Lakes. The database was begun in conjunction with the compilation
of a Green Products Directory by the Ontario Green Communities Initiative
(GCI) and the provincial C.E.D. Secretariat in the Spring of 1995. The
GCI programmes, which at that time were engaged in building- audit and
“green up” projects in ten Ontario communities, prioritized five categories
of building products: insulation; weatherization & air-sealing products;
caulks & sealants; paints & finishes; and windows & doors.
It listed “best case” products. Building on this base, we have added several
categories, and are in the process of adding more categories, besides expanding,
deepening and updating existing information. The EMG database is different
from other environmental building product databases primarily in its focus
on the Oak Ridges/Toronto bioregion. While much of the information will
be quite useful to people outside this region, our priority has been to
make the database as relevant as possible to local economic development.
This is not simply because of the embodied energy usually implied by long-distance
transport, but also because of the innumerable social, economic and other
benefits connected to local industry and making the best use of regional
resources. This said, it is sometimes desirable to support state-of-the-art
green products from elsewhere.
What is considered “green” is always a relative question,
and materials selection usually involves some degree of compromise. Nevertheless
our standards are quite high, recognizing that both the need and the potential
for truly ecological building are vast. The EMG feels that it is essential
that, while 
recognizing
current economic realities, we must begin to change those realities by
pushing the boundaries of what is possible and acceptable. Various evaluation
criteria span the range of products and materials. We have tried to simplify
things by highlighting certain criteria common to many kinds of materials:
like reclaimed and recycled contents. But we also recognize that these
criteria, and others used, apply differently to different products. Durability
is of the greatest importance for some products; for other products, recycled
content, biodegradability, or R-value, may more significant. The database
is geared to serve the needs of designers, engineers, tradespeople, contractors,
real estate agents, developers, retailers, wholesalers, investors and the
general public. It is intended as a convenient tool, as well as an educational
medium. It is designed for user-friendliness. The EMG database will soon
be available on computer disk, and on CD-ROM. Internet access is also planned.
Inquiries about the Eco-Materials Database can be made at emg@web.net
Education about materials is one of the most important
elements of environmental literacy today. Such knowledge is necessary for
professionals—from designers and tradespeople to retailers and property
managers. But it is also necessary for the general public—anyone who uses,
maintains, or lives among materials. This is not simply for environmental
health, but for human health…since, as the World 
Health
Organization estimates, perhaps 30% of our building stock causes significant
health problems. The EMG can design workshops or seminars to any group’s
needs, both in terms of knowledge level and available time-period. Our
workshops are both entertaining and informative. We can also help design
curriculum for environmental education, trades training, design education,
etc. We also provide workshops on green economics and green development…for
schools, local government and other groups. (See our Green
Economics homepage). Contact us here………or
phone us at (416) 466-2236.
The Eco-Materials Group has the knowledge to help designers,
developers, governments, and others find answers to questions about 
materials,
and research materials- related questions. While our expertise lay in practical
applications and a broad synthesis of current information on building materials,
we are well-connected to the network of scientific-technical research and
testing in this region. The Eco-Materials Group includes researchers with
architectural, engineering, trades, economic and business expertise. Contact
us here………..with your inquiries. Or phone
us at (416) 466-2236.
The faxline is a way by which people can get specific information about materials which relate to their particular job, large or small.
Phone our line—(416) 466-2236—and leave a brief description of your concern. An EMG researcher will phone you back to ask about the details and give you an estimate. Within days, you’ll have a typewritten report of our recommendations and possible suppliers of appropriate materials.
We will also respond to e-mail requests at our address: emg@web.net.
Environmental economic consulting is typically involved with narrow forms of clean-up, regulatory tinkering and the like. The EMG believes communities can, and must, implement more transformative economic development strategies which can regenerate communities and ecosystems. This usually means changing many basic relationships between production and consumption, facilitating greater popular participation in political and economic processes, and implementing new forms of quality-based eco-production.
The EMG feels that work, prosperity and real wealth can
be 
created
by doing more with less, substituting mindpower for materials and energy;
by closing production/consumption loops as tightly as possible; and by
focusing directly on producing for local/regional community needs. But
real economic development must begin with the basics, implementing a sectoral
approach. Communities must look to see what are the most ecological relationships
which can be established in the food system, in manufacturing, in the provision
of shelter, in energy, in basic infrastructure, etc. Technologies must
be implemented which focus on resource-productivity and job creation, rather
than labour- displacement.
Exciting community-based ecological alternatives are emerging
in almost all sectors of the economy. But their potential can only be realized
if communities begin to base their overall economic development strategies
on them. The EMG can help groups, companies, governments, unions and schools
gear their work to regenerative economic development. New kinds of ecological
processes and projects can be implemented which, while comprising a substantial
alternative to mainstream labour-displacing export-oriented development,
need not threaten conventional economic relations. In fact, ecological
economic development can produce real results quickly, freeing up capital
and creating new forms of skilled work.
We have connections in every sector of the economy, and keep well-informed
on new developments in green economics from around the world. We can do
research, provide resources and contacts, and offer interesting educational
workshops on green economics for almost any clientele. Check out the EMG
Green Economics homepage for more information on green economics.
We would like to hear from you:
Your suggestions for this site
Our e-mail address is emg@web.net
Eco-Materials Group
Box 65163
358 Danforth Ave.
Toronto, Ontario M4K-3Z2 Canada
(416)
466-2236