There’s not much worse than ’Greenwash’; being a false or diluted claim when it comes to the sustainability credentials of a product.

With the delicate nature of the planet and therefore the growing importance of sustainable products and initiatives, product suppliers must put their environmental hats on, but more importantly, be true to them rather than simply making it appear that way. 

Viking Roofspec takes a common-sense approach to their treatment of the environment. Their first priority is to keep water out of buildings for good, which is a sustainability virtue in itself; it’s just a bonus that their roofing and waterproofing solutions have minimal environmental impact.

Overlay options: minimising waste

Components of unhealthy buildings need to be sorted properly, however, despite the tired nature of the existing membrane, the substrate is usually solid and in perfectly sound condition. In these situations, a membrane overlay is a sensible and perfectly acceptable option (under Schedule One of the NZBC).

Over 90% of Viking roofing materials can be used as an overlay option, allowing existing roofs or decks to remain in place. The benefits of this are numerous:

• Negating ‘churn,’ ie: building inhabitants can remain in the building without having to relocate
• Workplace noise and airborne dust is negligible in comparison to the carnage created by a full replacement
• No transport is required to cart the discarded (and sometimes toxic) materials to the landfill
• Landfills are spared being filled with nasties.

Viking strongly believes in fully encapsulating toxic materials such as asbestos for good, rather than unnecessarily disturbing them and relocating them (which would expose people to airborne gaseous-type dust). 

Bitumen: a quiet achiever

Also known as ‘asphalt,’ bitumen is made from the left-over residue (slag) of the oil refining process. This waste material is then converted into waterproofing and asphalt shingle roofing materials which keep buildings dry. Old bitumen membranes can also be easily overlaid after several decades of waterproofing performance.

Water potability certified roofing systems

Several of Viking’s waterproofing systems have been tested and certified as being fit for collecting and drinking rainwater off the roof. These include Viking Enviroclad; Epiclad; Phoenix APAO Torch-On; and CertainTeed Asphalt shingles. A quality filtration system is still required in order to deal with external factors caused by animals, birds and leaves.

Roof gardens

Vegetation absorbs CO2 and emits O2 back into the atmosphere. Roof gardens reduce the need for artificial heating and cooling as the saturated growing media and vegetation has the ability to absorb and store thermal energy, ultimately rendering savings for the building owner.

Warm roofs

A Viking WarmRoof is a practical solution for overlaying an existing low-slope roof. Virtually any existing roofing material, including metal, can be overlaid provided it remains structurally sound. Aside from the superior thermal efficiencies rendered from the polyisocyanurate insulation board, the existing roof does not need to be removed and dumped and the energy efficiency of polyiso rigid panel is unmatched by other insulation types which saves electricity.

Negligible remedial rate

Installation of Viking waterproofing systems is only performed by approved application companies whose installers have been through Viking Roofspec’s stringent three-stage licensing programme, ensuring the highest level of care and attention to detail for building owners and specifiers. This contributes to Viking's industry-low remedial rate which would otherwise cause wasted and therefore dumped materials.

Greenstar rating

Several of Viking's waterproofing systems are made up of recycled compounds and are then 100% recyclable at the end of their usable life, assisting with a building’s Green Star rating.

Associations

As a member of the Green Building Council it to is important to Viking that “New Zealanders live, work and play in healthy, efficient and productive buildings in a sustainable built environment." Viking systems also feature on numerous homes that have scored between seven and 10 on the Homestar Built Scale — all part of the Superhome movement solidifying that Viking products contribute to healthier and more energy-efficient buildings.

Viking also supplies products that are red-list free and hold a Declare label.