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: Is It Still Good? Part Two: Moving from Carbon to Climate
Feature Article
Mass timber at scale could make climate change worse. Instead of embodied carbon alone, “climate-smart” practices focus on our increasingly fragile forests.
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Wood: Is It Still Good? Part One: Embodied Carbon
Feature Article
The idea that wood is inherently carbon neutral has masked negative impacts. The climate stakes are too high for us to keep buying those claims.
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Keeping PFAS Forever Chemicals out of Building Products
Feature Article
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been linked to negative health and environmental impacts. Getting them out of our building products is going to require work.
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Using Low-Carbon Concrete in Your Next Project
Feature Article
Advancements in low-carbon concrete materials and strategies have led to greater adoption in much of the U.S. Now it's time to start using them.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Hemp: A Durable, Low-Carbon Building Material
Explainer
This rapidly renewable material is excellent for textiles and non-structural concrete. (And no, it will not get you high.)
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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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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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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.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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BuildingGreen Announces Top 10 Products for 2024
Product Review
BuildingGreen’s Top 10 industry-transforming products this year include innovative heat-pump energy storage, electric construction equipment, PFAS-free textiles, healthier lighting, PV circularity, and more.
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Can AI Help Close the Timber Loop?
Product Review
Urban Machine developed a machine that uses AI and robotics to de-nail salvaged wood for reuse onsite.
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BuildingGreen Announces Top 10 Products for 2023
Product Review
BuildingGreen’s Top 10 industry-transforming products this year include heat pumps that use low-GWP refrigerants, products that encourage recycling and re-use, wood insulation, and more.
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Innovative Products: 20th Greenbuild Edition
Product Review
The Greenbuild expo floor was a mix of familiar faces, updates, and new, innovative products.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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3 First Steps to Break the Chains of Slavery in the Supply Chain
News Analysis
Forced labor is embedded in many common building materials. The building industry can’t solve this alone, but we can ask the right questions.
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This Is What Circularity Looks Like: A Pragmatic Playbook
News Brief
Upending the global economy to make it circular instead of linear sounds daunting. A new resource demonstrates how to become “circular ready.”
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Glass Pozzolan Wins Innovation Award
News Brief
Urban Mining Industries’ Pozzotive glass pozzolan can replace portland cement in concrete and is now a Concrete Innovation Award winner.
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How to Weigh in on the FTC’s Anti-Greenwashing “Green Guides”
News Brief
Help the federal government put a stop to corporate greenwashing by submitting a public comment to the FTC during the current open comment period.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Press Release: Major Green Building Orgs Team Up on Material Education
Blog Post
Mindful MATERIALS has partnered with BuildingGreen to expand knowledge of the Common Materials Framework across the building product manufacturing and AEC industries.
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Google Goes Public with Ambitious Carpet Tile Standard
Blog Post
With a new procurement program, Google adopted comprehensive sustainability requirements for modular carpet tile that raise the bar for major manufacturers.
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The Sustainable Spec Language You Should Be Using
Blog Post
Selecting the greenest products doesn’t do any good unless strong specifications support your choices. Here’s some language you can use.
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Let’s Talk: Mainstreaming Transparency Takes More than Letters
Op-Ed
To move the building industry toward greener products, there are two big things we need to do.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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The BuildingGreen Guide to Building Product Certifications and Ecolabels- Discounted
Special Report
This BuildingGreen publication provides a no-nonsense guide to the world of green building product certifications to help designers, purchasers, manufacturers, and others in the industry to focus on what is significant and relevant so that market forces can work and the industry can focus on bigger issues.
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The BuildingGreen Guide to Building Product Certifications and Ecolabels
Special Report
This BuildingGreen publication provides a no-nonsense guide to the world of green building product certifications to help designers, purchasers, manufacturers, and others in the industry to focus on what is significant and relevant so that market forces can work and the industry can focus on bigger issues.
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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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Keeping PFAS Forever Chemicals out of Building Products
Feature Article
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been linked to negative health and environmental impacts. Getting them out of our building products is going to require work.
