OVERVIEW
Materials really do matter to the health of occupants and the environment, but finding out what is in a product—and why—is not easy.
Products also have to perform as intended, so there are often tradeoffs between performance and the most sustainable materials.
Here you will find articles on:
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the least hazardous, most environmentally sustainable materials used in products
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environmental product declarations that can reveal the life-cycle impacts of materials
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standards and third-party certifications that provide important VOC criteria and other health and performance metrics
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chemicals of concern in building materials
You’ll also learn how what makes a product green can differ from product category to product category, and why multi-attribute vetting is critical no matter what product or material you’re selecting or specifying.
IN-DEPTH
Filter results:
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Live Webinar- BuildingGreen's Top 10 Green Building Products for 2019
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
Join Brent Ehrlich and Alex Wilson to learn which 10 green products BuildingGreen thinks are the best in the industry for 2019.
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AIA Writes ‘Prescription’ for Healthier Materials
September 10, 2018News Brief
A new publication published by AIA provides guidance on how to put healthier material selection into practice.
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The Combined Effectiveness of Prefab, Wood, and Passive House
August 6, 2018News Analysis
Recent projects have combined modular prefabrication, wood construction, and Passive House design to address sustainability goals.
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New PVC-Free Resilient Flooring Options
August 6, 2018Product Review
Shaw is now offering biobased and recycled PET resilient flooring options for commercial and healthcare applications.
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The BuildingGreen Guide to Insulation
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
The BuildingGreen Guide to Insulation provides detailed guidance on insulation products and practices, including cost comparisons and detailed recommendations on what insulation to use, and what to avoid.
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Let’s Talk: Mainstreaming Transparency Takes More than Letters
August 6, 2018Op-Ed
To move the building industry toward greener products, there are two big things we need to do.
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Manufacturers to Architects: Buy Greener Products or They May Go Away
August 6, 2018News Analysis
Designers asked for transparency and got it. Now they need to follow through with specs, say producers.
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Polystyrene Insulations Are Now HBCD-Free
June 5, 2018Product Review
Dow, Owens Corning, and Kingspan have joined the EPS industry in eliminating the hazardous halogenated flame retardant HBCD from their XPS insulations.
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Material Transparency for LEED v4: EPDs and HPDs for Metal Studs
May 22, 2018Blog Post
Reducing your building’s carbon footprint or health impacts? Going after new LEED credits? Transparency documents for steel studs can help.
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Mass Timber to Be Recognized in Washington Code
May 8, 2018News Brief
Supporters of Washington’s new mass timber law hope it will increase tall wood construction.
