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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Why Chemical Transparency Matters
Feature Article
You can’t manage what you don’t measure—especially if you don’t know it exists in the first place.
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What Makes Plumbing Green? BuildingGreen’s Guide to Plumbing Products
Feature Article
People like a clean flush and a long shower, but water is getting scarcer. Selecting the right building products can meet both needs.
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EPDs Are the Future of the Building Industry, Whether You Like It or Not
Feature Article
Environmental product declarations are taking off, but can they actually fly? Experts share the ups and downs of this promising but imperfect transparency tool.
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Finding Furniture Without Toxic Flame Retardants
Feature Article
Flame retardants in upholstered furniture are easier to avoid under new rules, but they’re not gone. Here’s how to navigate the changing landscape.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Polystyrene Insulations Are Now HBCD-Free
Product 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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New Insulated Metal Panels without Halogenated Flame Retardants
Product Review
Kingspan and Centria IMPs are using halogen-free flame retardants, resulting in less toxic, better performing insulated cladding.
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BuildingGreen Announces Top 10 Products for 2018
Product Review
Our innovative Top 10 product selections improve IAQ, save energy and water, contain fewer hazardous materials, and promote material transparency.
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Mineral-Based Interior Paints Go Mainstream
Product Review
Mineral-based paint from Romabio contains no synthetic resins, and can be used in place of standard interior acrylic latex paint on drywall.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Historic HFC Climate Rule Will Slash U.S. Emissions
News Brief
With EPA's new HFC rule, the Biden administration just finalized one of the most important greenhouse-gas-reduction initiatives in U.S. history.
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Methodology in Development for Factoring FSC into LCAs
News Brief
Forest management practices have a big impact on the carbon benefits of using wood products. SCS has laid out how to do the calculations. -
New Directions for Mindful Materials
News Brief
More than a database, mindful Materials is taking on an advocacy and convener role focused on healthy and sustainable materials.
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Katerra to Shut Down in U.S., Reducing Certified CLT Options
News Brief
The “vertically integrated” company Katerra offered everything from FSC-certified mass timber products to prefab design and construction services, but it couldn’t stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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The Big Materials Dream Needs to Include Climate Change and More
Op-Ed
We’re finally getting vital toxicity information about building products. But let’s remember that sustainability is about more than avoiding health hazards.
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Finding the Building Products You Need to Do WELL
Blog Post
The WELL Building Standard has stringent transparency and health criteria for products and materials. Here’s how to find what you’ll need for certification.
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4 Insider Tips for Choosing Flashing Tapes, from a Real-Life Engineer
Blog Post
A research engineer at Pella Windows finally offers some adult supervision for our benchtop tape tests.
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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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Breaking Barriers to Building Material Reuse
Webcast
Buildings aren’t garbage. These three circularity loop-closers are making it easier and easier to reuse materials.
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Waste Not, Want Not: Case Studies of Building Material Reuse
Spotlight Report
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Finding Products for LEED v4 and v4.1
Spotlight Report
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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.
Just For Fun
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