Keeping up with the latest comes with the territory for architects and designers. This is certainly true when it comes to sustainable building standards. With the introduction of advanced requirements for healthier and environmentally preferable materials in LEED v4, the Living Building Challenge (LBC) and the WELL Building standard, architects have a whole new set of criteria to consider when selecting and specifying products.
These new rating systems reference advanced product performance standards that increase transparency in the disclosure of material constituents, with the aim of reducing health and environmental impacts. These product certifications are intended to help designers compare products and make informed choices in the specification of building materials and finishes.
Product certifications can be single-attribute or multi-attribute verifications. A single-attribute looks at one aspect of a product or material, such as recycled content or volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. Multi-attribute certifications distinguish products that meet a stringent and comprehensive set of criteria through a sequence of metrics covering environmental and/or health impacts. These certifications help identify products that excel in key areas like material composition, manufacturing impacts, emissions and energy use.
Many of these certifications use a full life cycle assessment methodology to screen and score products. Regardless of the type of certification, it is critical that the certifying body be transparent in both the criteria and methodologies used to verify product attributes and maintain credibility. Third-party certifications allow manufacturers to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and differentiate their product from competitors.
They also allow designers to confidently specify products, which meet desired criteria. Third-party certified products can contribute to building certifications, but use of any one certified product does not guarantee the certification of a building.
Established third-party certifications include:
- ECOLOGO-An Underwriters Laboratories (UL) multi-attribute, life cycle-based certification of reduced environmental impact for products, services and packaging.
- Green Seal-A not-for-profit organization that provides single and multi-attribute, third-party certification using product performance, health and environmental criteria. Product certifications cover a range of products and attributes.
More recently, multi-attribute certifications have gained recognition, including Health Product Declarations, Environmental Product Declarations, Cradle to Cradle, Green Screen and Declare. Each is raising the bar on product transparency and comprehensive health and environmental standards.
Health Product Declarations (HPDs) were created by the Health Product Declaration Collaborative. An HPD is a standard reporting format to enable transparent disclosure of building product content and associated health information; it provides product ingredient details focused on the health implications of potentially hazardous chemicals and compounds.
Environmental Product Declarations
(EPDs) are a standardized format for communicating the environmental effects associated with a product or system’s raw material extraction, energy use, chemical makeup, waste generation, and emissions to air, soil and water. EPDs are created by conducting a life cycle inventory and life cycle assessment, and then obtaining third-party validation of the results. To be recognized as contributing toward LEED v4 certification, the process must follow recognized International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards.
The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certified Product Standard assesses and certifies products across five quality categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness. In addition to the initial third-party assessment, manufacturers must submit periodic demonstration of continuous improvement processes.
GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals is a method developed by Clean Production Action Inc. for use in conducting comparative chemical hazard assessments of products. It establishes four benchmarks for chemicals, and the methodology recognizes the complexity of chemical use in manufacturing and the opportunity for continuous improvement.
Declare is a transparency-driven product ingredient label and database established by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) to support the identification of chemical Red List-free materials for LBC projects. Manufacturers self-disclose the ingredients in their products and, upon review and acceptance by the ILFI, the product is added to the publically available Declare database.
While increasing awareness regarding material constituents and their environmental and health impacts, these new standards have also created confusion and challenges in the specification and procurement of materials. As designers begin searching for materials that meet the requirements of building rating systems, they may feel overwhelmed by the number of different standards, hazard lists, screening tools, product certifications, and certification bodies related to product transparency and certification. Thankfully there are a number of useful and reliable resources to help, including GreenSpec by BuildingGreen, the C2C website, Declare database, Pharos, SmithGroupJJR HPD database, and UL Environment.
Product certifications have become a critical component of healthy, sustainable building standards. They drive transparency and innovation for product manufacturers, support clear communication of product attributes by distributors, and aid designers in making informed choices. I see them growing in importance for architects as they work to stay current in their practice.
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Alan Scott, FAIA, LEED Fellow, LEED AP BD+C, O+M, WELL AP, CEM, is an architect with nearly 30 years of experience in sustainable building design. He is a director with YR&G Sustainability in Portland, Ore. To learn more, visit www.yrgxyz.com and find Alan on Twitter @alanscott_faia.