Material Health
Pursuing material health in the building industry involves avoiding or eliminating toxic chemicals from building products. Toxic chemicals are those that can bring harm to factory workers, installers, or building occupants. There are tens of thousands of unregulated chemicals used in our building products, and they can increase the risk of everything from asthma to obesity to cancer.
Materials containing these toxic chemicals include carpet, insulation, wet-applied products like adhesives and sealants, and many others. It’s possible to improve material health through better design decisions and product selections.
Material Health
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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New Options Emerging among Mass Timber Panels
Product Review
Lots of glue, or all wood? Two new products highlight very different approaches to structural panels.
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Fiberglass, XPS, Cork? Insulation Options for LEED v4 and Living Buildings
Product Review
Choosing insulation with an eye to points in LEED v4 or Living Building Challenge compliance? Here’s how insulation materials compare.
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BuildingGreen Announces Top 10 Products for 2017
Product Review
Our innovative Top 10 product selections reduce stormwater and wastewater, improve efficiency and IAQ, and contain fewer hazardous materials.
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Treated Wood for Ground Contact, Minus the Toxic Pesticides
Product Review
Accoya, now code-approved for fungus and termite resistance, relies on acetylation as a benign alternative to conventional pressure-treated wood.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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New Owner of TimberSIL Hopes to Put Failures in the Past
News Analysis
Everyone loved the treated-wood alternative until its high-profile failures. For the next maker of TimberSIL, quality control is job one.
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The Search for Better Insulation Continues
News Analysis
We can all celebrate 25 years of improvements to insulation, but we still have a wish list of seven better products we’d like to see.
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Leadership Transition as Healthy Building Network Grows
News Brief
HBN founder Bill Walsh will shift to heading strategic development as president of the nonprofit, while affordable housing leader Gina Ciganik becomes CEO.
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Rubber Flooring: A Good Use for Old Car Tires?
News Analysis
Rubber flooring is getting greener overall, but tire-derived products are still an iffy proposition.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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Just For Fun
Something weird happens every April at BuildingGreen...
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