Natural Stone Sustainability Standard
NSC/ANSI 373 Sustainable Production of Natural Dimension Stone
Our current primary initiative is promoting this ANSI sustainability standard and educating the design community about how to apply it to achieve their green building objectives.
It’s the right thing for the environment.
Certifying to the NSC 373 standard gave us an opportunity to identify changes that reduce our carbon footprint without reducing productivity. For example, when we completed our chemical inventory for the standard we found that we, along with most stone companies, were using dozens of carcinogenic, mutagenic, and toxic chemicals that were very harmful to our employees.
- Aaron Hicken, Delta Stone Products
It’s the right thing for the stone industry.
The natural stone industry is behind other building products in the green building world. We desperately need to embrace the NSC 373 Sustainability Standard as an industry in order to better position ourselves and our products. I believe it is critical that we tell our story through certification so that we can show our competitive advantage over other materials, especially man made imitations.
- Rob Teel, Continental Cut Stone
It’s the right thing for your bottom line.
We have been awarded jobs based on our certification – it is that simple. Architects & designers have made it clear that they value our certification and that it is a key differentiator for our stone. They can now use our granite as a qualified material for either their LEED or Living Building Standard applications which has brought us into more important jobs and at a higher level of consideration.
- Tom Cleveland, Stony Creek Quarry
What Makes Stone Sustainable?
The Natural Stone Sustainability Standard examines and verifies (through a third party) numerous areas of stone production; effectively improving the baseline for the environmental performance of natural stone. Learn more about what makes natural stone sustainable:
water energy custody & transportation chain of custody chemicals & materials excess material innovation site management land reclamation human health & safety corporate governance
Well Recognized
The Natural Stone Sustainability Standard has been established through ANSI, which is administered by the NSF. It is recognized by US Green Building Council (USGBC) with LEED v4 through the Sourcing of Raw Materials credit. The Living Building Challenge also recognizes the standard in the Material Petal, Responsible Industry.
Genuine Stone®
One of the initiatives of the Natural Stone Council is to promote and monitor the use of the Genuine Stone® brand.
Definition
Genuine Stone® is defined as stone which has been harvested from its in situ position within the earth’s crust and fabricated without altering the natural fabric of the material. This includes, but is not limited to: granite, marble, limestone, travertine, slate, quartzite, sandstone, and onyx.
This does NOT include: engineered quartz surfaces, manufactured stone veneer, or other artificial building materials.
Cambria, Lapitec, Silestone, Caesarstone, Dekton, Neolith and other brand names may contain natural materials, but they do not fit our definition of Genuine Stone®.
Logo Permissions
If your material fits the Genuine Stone® definition, and you are a member of one of our affiliate organizations, you are welcome to use the logo in your marketing collateral.
About the Natural Stone Council
The Natural Stone Council is a collaboration of businesses and trade associations that have joined forces to promote the use of natural stone in commercial, residential, government, institutional, educational and all types of applications interior and exterior.
Our Initiatives
Find out the latest information on Environmental Product Disclosures, MSHA/OSHA survey results, Radon research, the Check Off program, and more.
Our Members
The Natural Stone Council is an ‘association’ of associations that share common values associated with the promotion of natural stone through the use of the Genuine Stone® brand. Find out who is involved as an affiliate organization.
Our Resources
Browse our database of stone industry resources which includes Material Fact Sheets, Case Studies, Best Practices, and Life Cycle Inventories.
