• +32 89 65 78 85
  • info@carbstone.be
  • Masterbloc: Steenweg naar As 4, B-3630 Maasmechelen
  • +32 4 273 72 00
  • info@carbstone.be
  • Prefer: Sart d’Avette 110, B-4400 Flémalle
Carbstone logo, consisting of a yellow and green cube with leaf elements in the center, surrounded by arrows, above the text "Carbstone" in blue and gray.
Op een lichtgroene achtergrond staat een betonblok, met aan de rechterkant van de afbeelding de logo’s en slogans van Carbstone en Totem.

Carbstone in TOTEM: Measurable environmental data for buildings with a negative carbon footprint

Today, sustainable construction is no longer based solely on good intentions, but also on measurable and objective data. Architects and contractors want to accurately measure the environmental impact of the materials they use in their projects.

In this context, TOTEM plays a central role. This Belgian tool enables the objective assessment of a building’s environmental impact and helps design teams make decisions based on concrete and reliable data.

Thanks to the integration of Carbstone blocks’ B-EPD certifications into TOTEM, professionals now have access to reliable environmental data that allows them to assess the impact of using this innovative, circular, and carbon-negative solution in their projects. At the same time, partners MasterBloc and Prefer, located in Maasmechelen and Flémalle, respectively, ensure the production and effective availability of this technology on the market.

What is TOTEM?

TOTEM (Tool to Optimize the Total Environmental Impact of Materials) is the leading tool in Belgium for assessing the environmental impact of materials and buildings using a scientific methodology.

It was developed jointly by the three Belgian regions, along with organizations such as OVAM and Brussels Environment.

In practice, TOTEM supports design teams in integrating environmental impact considerations from the earliest stages of a project, making sustainability, which has become a basic requirement in many projects, a design criterion in its own right. Data from Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) thus make it possible to measure indicators such as the carbon footprint or the impact over the entire life cycle.

The connection between TOTEM, LCA, and EPD

Life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluates a product’s environmental impact throughout its entire life cycle. An EPD certification summarizes and presents these results in a standardized document, enabling an objective comparison of the environmental performance of different materials.

TOTEM then uses this data to calculate the environmental impact of materials within the overall context of a building. This approach makes it possible to evaluate not only the characteristics of the products but also their contribution to the environmental performance of the entire project.

Why the integration of Carbstone is important

Carbstone is an innovative and sustainable alternative to traditional concrete blocks. Made without cement from 100% recycled raw materials, this material is fully circular and has a negative carbon footprint.

It sequesters more CO₂ than is emitted during its manufacturing process, and it continues to neutralize CO₂ throughout its entire life cycle. At the end of its life, Carbstone components can be crushed and then reused as raw material to produce a new generation of materials, without any loss of quality, capturing additional CO₂ with each production cycle. This results in a truly circular loop.

The integration of Carbstone into TOTEM now makes it possible to display and compare these performance metrics within the benchmark tool used by the construction industry.

The role of MasterBloc and Prefer

Carbstone is the result of close collaboration between two Belgian construction companies. MasterBloc and Prefer are responsible for the production and marketing of this innovative product.

This collaboration is essential because an innovation only has an impact if it can be produced on a large scale and actually used in construction projects.

Thanks to their respective B-EPD certifications, the two partners make Carbstone’s environmental performance measurable and accessible to all stakeholders in the sector.

Conclusion

The integration of Carbstone into TOTEM marks an important step toward more sustainable construction, based on measurable and objective data. TOTEM provides a recognised assessment framework; Carbstone offers a circular, carbon-negative construction solution; and MasterBloc and Prefer ensure its production and availability on the market. Together, they make sustainable construction a reality.