Material Selection
Selecting building materials can be complex. You have to take into account toxicity, performance, the environmental life cycle, cost, and other factors.
Understanding what makes a building product green is a long-term prospect. Green characteristics differ from product category to product category, and multi-attribute vetting is critical.
Material Selection
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Wood, Concrete, and Steel—And Their Incomparable EPDs
Feature Short
Don’t expect the turf battles over sustainability of structural systems to be settled anytime soon by EPDs.
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Why “Zero VOC” Was Never Enough
Feature Short
We used to look for coatings, adhesives, and sealants that contained no VOCs. Great for smog prevention, but IAQ and installer health are also important.
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How to Get from VOC Certifications to Better Products
Feature Short
The FDA regulates flies in our soup, but no one regulates VOCs in our indoor air. Somehow that’s a designer’s job to figure out.
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VOCs in LEED and Other Rating Systems
Feature Short
Most building certifications encourage low-emitting and low-VOC products, but they all do it differently. Here’s how it all fits together.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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The 12 Product Rules
Infographic
These 12 product rules provide a simple approach to selecting better, healthier, and more environmentally responsible building products and materials.
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The 8 Shades of Greenwash: How Many Do You Recognize?
Infographic
Most building products these days have an environmental angle to their sales pitches. Many are legit, but as ever, you still have to watch for the telltale signs of greenwash—the practice of inventing or exaggerating the environmental benefits of a product.
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What These Forestry Labels Really Mean
Infographic
You’ve seen FSC and SFI labels on wood products. Most often, you’ve seen no label at all. Here’s a green guide to each one.
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Drywall Options: Paper-Faced, Monolithic, or Fiberglass-Faced?
Explainer
Drywall types differ in cost, recyclability, and response to moisture and mold.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Triton Logging Recovers Underwater Forests
Product Review
Triton Logging, Inc., of British Columbia has brought to market environmentally-friendly lumber from forests flooded by reservoirs; standing trees are recovered using the company's unique Sawfish submarine harvester.
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Nail Kicker Aids Wood Reuse
Product Review
A pneumatic tool that aids salvage and reuse of wood, the Nail Kicker has recently been reissued.
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Unique American Teak Offers FSC-Certified Flooring
Product Review
A new supplier is offering prefinished teak flooring from Costa Rica certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
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180 Walls Sets New Standard for Green Wallcovering
Product Review
A woven polyester wallcovering from Milliken, 180 Walls is cost-competitive with vinyl wallcoverings and offers a number of environmental benefits that are backed up by third-party certifications.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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News on the Toilet Testing Front
News Analysis
Veritec Consulting has redesigned its toilet-performance testing protocol to save soybean paste, and a new system helps consumers identify toilets that save water and flush well.
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U.K. Homes Rating System Recognizes FSC, SFI
News Analysis
The Building Research Establishment's (BRE) EcoHomes environmental rating system for homes in Great Britain recently gave equal recognition in its guidelines to wood certified by FSC and SFI, two rival programs.
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Recycled-Content Paint Standard Released
News Analysis
A new latex paint standard addresses product quality, performance, VOC content, and additive- and recycled-content levels.
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Steelcase Receives MBDC Certification for Workstation
News Analysis
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Concerns About Broadening LEED's Wood Credit
Op-Ed
Bill Edgerton, AIA, writes about his concerns that broadening LEED's wood credit would weaken LEED and erode USGBC's credibility.
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Fixing the Perception Problem with Cradle to Cradle Certification
Op-Ed
Products carrying Basic and Silver Cradle to Cradle labels are on a path toward sustainability, but calling them "certified" is misleading.
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A New Edge in Specifying Green Building Products
Op-Ed
BuildingGreen will link our Web-based green products resource, GreenSpec, with the Healthy Building Network's Pharos Project to provide one trusted, authoritative, independent source for specifying green building products, information and research.
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Choosing Windows: New Report Addresses Cost, Performance
Op-Ed
A new report from BuildingGreen helps you choose windows for a project, find the right balance among seven key decision drivers, including cost, performance, aesthetics, and more.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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Green Building Materials 101: A Syllabus Supplement
Syllabus Supplement
College professors: here’s a curriculum module for introducing students to healthier and lower-impact products and materials using BuildingGreen articles.
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Sustainable Design 101: A Syllabus Supplement
Syllabus Supplement
College professors: here’s a curriculum module you can use to introduce students to sustainable design using BuildingGreen articles. Feel free to cherry pick content that fits your syllabus.
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The BuildingGreen Guide to Thermal Insulation
Special Report
The BuildingGreen Guide to Thermal Insulation, Fourth Edition, provides detailed guidance on insulation products and practices, including environmental and health comparisons, and recommendations on what insulation to use and what to avoid.
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Waste Not, Want Not: Case Studies of Building Material Reuse
Feature Article
Reclamation and reuse of building materials can be a tough sell and hard to design for, but many project teams have learned to make it work. Here’s how.
