How to Spot Greenwash—A BuildingGreen Webinar

As awareness of green building has grown, the desire to market building products as green has exploded, with new certifications and labels appearing on the market at a rapid pace. But not all labels are created equal, and it’s easy for even an educated purchaser to choose a product that appears sustainable but isn’t.

Over the years, EBN has worked hard to keep pace with the growth of green certifications and labeling to help readers identify which marketing claims are backed up by rigorous green standards and which are empty or incomplete promises. In a newly released webcast, BuildingGreen research director Jennifer Atlee condenses years of this research into an hour-long presentation that gives building and design professionals the tools they need to spot the difference between green and greenwash.

Walking listeners through nine types of greenwash, Atlee addresses a wide array of certifications and labels. Is the Forest Stewardship Council still the “gold standard” in forestry? Which emissions certifications really protect our health? Is “biobased” ever better? And can you get a green product from a dirty company? Atlee concludes with practical advice for industry professionals who are trying to navigate green product claims in the pursuit of a “sustainable, just, and thriving world” while still trying to get their jobs done within clients’ time and budget constraints.

Continuing Education

Receive continuing education credit for watching this video. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has approved this course for 1 HSW/SD Learning Unit. The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) has approved the technical and instructional quality of this course for 1 GBCI CE hour towards the LEED Credential Maintenance Program.

Learning Objectives

Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:

1. Understand the characteristics of quality standards and certifications to help screen out greenwash.
2. Recognize strengths and weaknesses of specific green building product certifications.
3. Learn to use life-cycle thinking to focus on green concerns that matter most for each product and project.
4. Develop pragmatic best practices in green-product specification, recognizing the limitations of certifications.

To earn continuing education credit, make sure you are logged into your personal BuildingGreen account, then watch the video and pass this quiz.

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Since 1992 building professionals have gathered around BuildingGreen’s rich array of media and information resources, including the award-winning Environmental Building News, BuildingGreen Suite of online tools, GreenSpec directory of products, and LEEDuser web tool, so they can work smarter. Not harder.

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