It's easy to get lost in a sea of greenwash. Our updated GreenSpec criteria provide clear direction on what makes a product green.

BuildingGreen has been defining what makes a product green since the start of the GreenSpec directory in 1998--and we're repeatedly surprised by how far and wide our list of green attributes travels. The industry is not static, though, and it is our aim to continue providing a compass that points from today's best practices to truly sustainable materials management.

This month's EBN feature article on what makes a product green lays out our "green attributes" for 2012--a set of broad criteria and definitions, knit together with life-cycle thinking, that we use to evaluate products for listing in GreenSpec. Key changes from our last update in 2006 show both how far we have come and how much further we have left to go in achieving the kind of materials management that would support a sustainable society.

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There are plenty of products that simply aren't efficient, low-emitting, or sustainable. but here are some products that have a lot going for them, but also have some serious flaws.

At GreenSpec, we most often like to talk about our 2,200-plus listings of exemplary green products--listings from over 1,600 companies representing thousands of individual products. For ten years we have annually highlighted our Top-10 products of the year, for example.

Today we look at six products we rejected from GreenSpec, and why. There are plenty of products that simply aren't efficient, low-emitting, or otherwise sustainable enough for our standards, but here we've selected some products that have a lot going for them, but also have some serious flaws.

We hope that pointing out flaws can lead to product and industry change. EcoDomo's recycled leather tiles for flooring and walls are made from recycled leather scraps mixed with natural rubber and a binder made from Acacia bark. We originally rejected the tiles in 2006 because of concerns about chromium, a toxic heavy metal used in leather tanning. EcoDomo took our concerns seriously, and now their tiles are chromium-free and listed in GreenSpec.

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Lighter, more fire-resistant, and a better insulator, autoclaved aerated concrete caught on in the rest of the world ages ago. It's taking a lot longer in the U.S.

To read what manufacturers and distributors say about it, you'd think autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) was some kind of new, space-age environmental miracle.

Although it certainly has some nifty properties, AAC isn't new and isn't miraculous--but it's certainly popular in Europe, and has been for decades; according to one source, it accounted for 60% of all new construction in Germany in 2006. It has enjoyed pretty flat market share (of near zero) here in the U.S., though, since it was first introduced in the 1990s.

Is there space for AAC in the U.S. market? Should the green building community be working to make space?

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Will environmental product declarations end greenwashing for good? Not so fast.

This is Part 3 in our series on transparency.

Part 1: Why We Care About Product Transparency

Part 2: Why We Need "Nutrition Labels" for Building Products

We all want to know more about where our building products come from and what's in them. Finally, with the emergence of environmental product declarations, we're going to find out!

Aren't we?

The promise of the product transparency movement is huge, and we think this nascent trend is going to play a big role in sustainable manufacturing, design, construction, and operations in the next few years--one reason why we dedicated this month's EBN feature to product transparency.

But things aren't as simple as they might seem in this uncharted realm. There's more to environmental product declarations (EPDs) than meets the eye. And in many cases, there's less than meets the eye too. While many manufacturers are working hard to show leadership on true transparency, there is also a risk of insidious greenwashing like we've never seen before.

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Contact with nature is not just an amenity: it's important for well-being. Green walls liven up urban spaces while improving building performance.

I live in Vermont, where agriculture is an integral part of our culture. I drive past the farms as the seasons change and see when the corn is high or when too much rain has made plowing impossible. And the family sees the results at the local farmer's market. Whenever I visit urban areas, I inevitably end up at the local park or waterfront for my early-morning runs.
I value this connection with the natural world--or biophilia--and maybe it's more than just a lifestyle choice. Biophilia has been shown to have tangible benefits, including reduced stress, improved productivity, and faster healing, to name a few, but integrating greenery among limited--and expensive--urban real estate is no easy task. Maybe the answer is to think vertically.

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There are more than 20 different standardized tests manufacturers can invoke to "qualify" as a code-accepted weather-resistive barrier (WRB); with our GreenSpec section on WRBs, we've picked just one that we think does the job.

It's not easy being a weather-resistive barrier (WRB): it has to stop liquid water, be tough and not tear, but also be flexible to wrap around building elements. And it often needs to be vapor-permeable to promote drying.

Finally, water-tight standards

In the past, manufacturers could cherry-pick the standardized test to use to "qualify." That's how we ended up with industry acceptance of perforated and cross-woven housewrap that literally leaks like a sieve.

Now we have a new ASTM "Standard Specification for Vapor Permeable Flexible Sheet Water-Resistive Barriers Intended for Mechanical Attachment." This standard also aligns with the latest version of the ICC-ES Acceptable Criteria (AC) 38–"Acceptance Criteria for Water-Resistive Barriers (PDF)." The table below presents the requirements for WRBs used in the new standard and now by GreenSpec.

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BIPV has yet to reach its full potential in the U.S., but a couple companies are giving it a shot.

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)--photovoltaic (PV) modules integrated into functional building elements, such as roofs, glazings, and building façades--are fairly common in Europe and Asia. Yet finding commercial BIPV façade products
in the U.S. is nearly impossible. Why is that?

There are a number of possibilities, including lack of suitable new projects due to the economy, a tempestuous PV market, and concerns about reliability and performance, to name a few--but the real reason might be a lot simpler.

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What's in it? Where was it made? Is the manufacturer socially responsible? These questions about green building products are getting easier to answer.

This is Part 1 in our series on transparency.

Part 2: Why We Need "Nutrition Labels" for Building Products

Part 3: The End of Greenwashing? Five Myths about Product Transparency

There's been a growing amount of buzz recently about "transparency"--a catchy word for giving people more information about products, finances, corporate behavior, and more.

It looks to us like the move toward transparency will be a major theme in 2012, so we focused EBN's January feature on explaining different forms of transparency and what this that could actually mean for the building industry in practice. To whet your appetite, check out this quick video we put together for a taste of what transparency means and how it could change our lives (thanks to our multi-talented sales administrator, HB Lozito, for her brilliant animations and narration).

Highlighting transparency in GreenSpec

We're also going to make it easier to find products from companies that are taking the lead in providing greater information transparency about their products and activities. Starting today, GreenSpec will have a new Green Attribute for Information Transparency.

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Nutrition labels allow shoppers to compare two bags of chips. The transparency movement seeks that level of transparency for building materials.

This is Part 2 in our series on transparency.

Part 1: Why We Care About Product Transparency

Part 3: The End of Greenwashing? Five Myths about Product Transparency

Building product transparency has been a hot topic in the design and construction world lately.

Pioneering manufacturers like InterfaceFLOR are releasing environmental product declarations (EPDs). Influential firms like Perkins+Will are gathering and publishing more data about what's really in our building materials (if you haven't seen the firm's new Transparency website, check it out here).

The LEED 2012 drafts are looking to incentivize transparency by offering credits for the use of products that have an EPD. We're also adding product transparency to GreenSpec as a searchable attribute to help you when specifying products.

As a companion to this month's EBN feature article, "The Product Transparency Movement: Peeking Behind the Corporate Veil," we've put together this fun four-minute video on what the transparency movement is all about. (Cheeky animations and soothing narration by our amazing sales administrator HB Lozito.)

We had a lot of fun making it, and folks have told us it's also fun to watch. Enjoy!

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For some fun around the holidays, GreenSpec is holding a virtual "open house"--giving you a sneak peek at some cool new products we're reviewing, and our first impressions. We'd like to hear what you think, so please read our first impressions below and then take the quick survey.

Happy holidays!

Update: Thank you for your feedback. We have closed the survey and are using it to inform our ongoing research agenda.