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True Product Leadership: The Clarus™ Sustainability Summary

In January, the Clarus Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) study proved the superior value of glassboards versus whiteboards. Key to the study was the revelations that whiteboards are only lasting 4-6 years on average, resulting in immense replacement costs due to discoloration and distortion.

Yesterday, we evaluated the TCO from an architectural and design perspective, to examine some of the overarching principles behind better the better value.

And while the economic facts cannot be denied – Clarus glassboards never need replacement, resulting in superior economics – it’s the holistic effect on sustainability that might have the best impact on design decisions.

As a highly versatile product, Clarus glassboards are noted for their blend of beauty, function, usability, and technology. Chief among findings were the specifics pertaining to sustainability.

  • Glassboards satisfied LEED goals for 30% of furniture and furnishings to be allocated to reusable products
  • LEED incentivizes design with 50% of ‘nonstructural materials’ being recyclable or reusable – Glassboards are often nonstructural and always recyclable.
  • The Hannover Principles advocate for the elimination of waste in sustainable design; whiteboards requiring replacement every 4-6 years create plastic and porcelain waste, whereas Glassboards don’t require replacement.
  • Sustainability principles also call for design that does not burden future generations with requirements for maintenance; only glassboards are measured in generations.
  • Glassboards can satisfy some LEED requirements for acoustical performance due to their energy reduction properties.
  • Glass-centric design can positively impact LEED daylighting strategies, bringing stress reduction, improved circadian rhythms and improved melatonin regulation to employees, positively affecting sleep and more.

In addition to these benefits, consider a few more:

  • Glassboards use low-volatile organic compound (VOC) paint which reduces solvents released into the air as paint dries.
  • Clarus glassboards’ successful 6500 lbs load test demonstrates adhesive that is truly architectural, to stand the test of time.
  • Clarus glassboards are more efficient with markers, cleaner, and erasing products, generating less waste, and saving time.

And of course, some of the Clarus Glassboards’ numbers from a third-party market survey demonstrate the products’ value:

  • 93% of users say that whiteboards last less than seven years, whereas glassboards will last for decades.
  • 54% of facility managers spend more than 30 minutes (with many spending more than an hour) just to install a new whiteboard. This doesn’t even include uninstalling a worn out board.
  • 72% of end-users say that discoloration is the reason they have to replace a whiteboard
  • A $500 traditional whiteboard will amount in $1698 in expense over just 10 years; Clarus glassboards eliminate the need for replacement, thus yielding a superior TCO.

Architects and interior designers may not be the end-users of a writing surface. Therefore, the cleaning, maintenance, and usability considerations could be seen instead as facility concerns. But specifying wasteful, inefficient products not only compromises LEED criterion, it represents poor design. As architects blend form and function in sustainable design, no longer can writing surfaces be considered an add-on or afterthought. Because with the graduation from plastic to glass, glassboards become a sustainable part of the design and build of the world’s best commercial spaces, a product – and material – fit for the LEED and sustainability credits they receive.