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
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Sand, a Surprisingly Limited Resource
Explainer
Demand for the basic raw material for glass and concrete is prompting illegal mining that’s leaving beaches and riverbeds bare.
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VOC Testing: What It Can and Can’t Tell You
Explainer
“Section 01350” has come a long way since it acquired its curious nickname. Here’s what it can tell you about indoor air quality—and what it can’t.
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Phthalate Plasticizer Toxicity Explained
Explainer
Phthalates are used as plasticizers in vinyl. Some are toxic, some less so—yet many manufacturers are avoiding them altogether.
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The Lacey Act and the Building Industry: Sourcing Legal Wood
Explainer
Lumber Liquidators will pay millions for importing illegal wood products. Could architects or contractors be fined for buying them?
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Can U.S.-made Wood Insulation Go Mainstream?
Product Review
Imported European wood insulation has been available for years, but high costs, limited availability, and code challenges have kept it from going mainstream. U.S.-made TimberHP is out to change that.
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Acoustic Panels: Cutting through the Product Noise
Product Review
Choosing interior acoustic products that contain fewer potentially hazardous materials will improve the overall interior environmental quality without compromising designs.
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Timeless Tile’s Carbon Conundrum
Product Review
Tile is an ancient type of flooring and wallcovering that can last centuries—even millennia. But can it check today’s sustainability boxes?
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Innovative Moisture-Resistant Textile with No PFAS
Product Review
Supreen is a woven textile that incorporates silicone into its fibers along with a polyurethane backing to provide a moisture-barrier material without the need for PFAS treatments.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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How to Identify—and Get Your Hands on—Climate-Smart Wood
News Analysis
The Climate Smart Wood Group is offering procurement guidance while simultaneously pushing toward better data.
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A Roundup of Programs Addressing Forced Labor
News Brief
Labor practices on the jobsite and in the material supply chain can be addressed in many ways, says a COOKFOX report.
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Climate-smart Mass Timber Is Coming
News Analysis
Better forestry practices and mass timber market development will benefit from tens of millions of dollars from USDA.
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Finding Better Materials for Affordable Housing
News Brief
The International Living Future Institute’s Declare database has added two filters to help find products that meet Enterprise Green Communities criteria.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Material Transparency for LEED v4: EPDs and HPDs for Metal Studs
Blog 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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Wingnut Real-World Testing of Basement Waterproofing
Blog Post
A basement testing of UGL Drylok Extreme, Koster NB1 Grey, Xypex Concentrate negative-side waterproofing
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Installing Insulation With the X-Floc Ventilated Dry Injection System
Blog Post
X-Floc claims the blowing equipment they use delivers cellulose at a more consistent density, and they were willing to prove it with this demonstration.
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An Embarrassment of Riches: Products and Materials at Greenbuild 2017
Blog Post
A new focus on embodied carbon and LEED v4 are driving designers to dive deep into what we choose for our buildings
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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Wood: Is It Still Good? Part One: Embodied Carbon
Spotlight Report
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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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Let’s Get Real about Wood’s Carbon Footprint
Webcast
You’ve probably heard that wood products are carbon neutral. You might also have heard that timber harvesting causes immense carbon emissions. Which is it? Could it be both?
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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.
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