Sustainable Building and Interior Decoration Initiative

The booming building and construction market in China, the interior decoration and renovation activities are rocketing. Lead, asbestos and mould included in environmental harmful products  cause severe health consequences for decoration workers and the inhabitants of the buildings. Substantial material use, generation and inadequate disposal of (toxic) waste impacts the environment. With regard to sustainable buildings the focus often is on the construction phase, while the ‘second’ building phase, the Building Interior Renovation and Decoration (BIRD) activities are often not explicitly considered

The SWITCH-Asia project Sustainable Interior Decoration Initiative (SUS BIRD) works towards improved health and living quality for building inhabitants and decoration workers. The project partners aim to increase the sustainability of interior decoration and renovation practices. This includes consumers choosing safe, healthy and environmentally friendly decoration products and appliances. On the other hand, this strengthens SMEs applying healthy and environmentally friendly working materials and procedures. The SUS BIRD project will establish and maintain of product information system on sustainable decoration products. It will strengthen the integration and adoption of labeling/certification programs. With handbooks and information packages it wants to ease market access. Moreover, the project partners plan to provide capacity building to products suppliers and staff of decoration/renovation companies. With campaigns SUS BIRD will address consumers and policy makers. It will demonstrate good practices, research case studies and replicate the experiences.