Material Selection
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:
-
the least hazardous, most environmentally sustainable materials used in products
-
environmental product declarations that can reveal the life-cycle impacts of materials
-
standards and third-party certifications that provide important VOC criteria and other health and performance metrics
-
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.
Material Selection
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Certified Wood: How SFI Compares to FSC
Feature Article
FSC-certified wood is ingrained in rating systems like LEED, but rival SFI has a revised standard. Can it show it’s just as good on the issues that matter most?
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
-
The Many Faces of Reclaimed Wood
Primer
Some types of reclaimed wood count as "salvaged materials" that contribute to points in LEED and help comply with green building codes while others do not.
-
Forest Products Certification: How It Works
Primer
Many wood and paper products now come with an eco-label. But what happens behind the scenes before a product gets the seal of approval?
-
Life-Cycle Assessment: Tracing a Product's Impacts
Primer
Life-cycle assessment-accounting for all of the environmental impacts of a product from its manufacture to its disposal-is a simple concept, but using it to compare products in practice can be difficult.
-
Drywall Options: Paper-Faced, Monolithic, or Fiberglass-Faced?
Primer
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.
-
New Options Emerging among Mass Timber Panels
Product Review
Lots of glue, or all wood? Two new products highlight very different approaches to structural panels.
-
Fiberglass, XPS, Cork? Insulation Options for LEED v4 and Living Buildings
Product Review
Choosing insulation with an eye to points in LEED v4 or Living Building Challenge compliance? Here’s how insulation materials compare.
-
Game-Changing Products from Greenbuild 2016
Product Review
USGBC’s 2016 expo showcased innovative products, including building-integrated ERV and an industry-first PV solar water heater.
-
BuildingGreen Announces Top 10 Products for 2017
Product Review
Our innovative Top 10 product selections reduce stormwater and wastewater, improve efficiency and IAQ, and contain fewer hazardous materials.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
-
Manufacturers to Architects: Buy Greener Products or They May Go Away
News Analysis
Designers asked for transparency and got it. Now they need to follow through with specs, say producers.
-
Mass Timber to Be Recognized in Washington Code
News Brief
Supporters of Washington’s new mass timber law hope it will increase tall wood construction.
-
Would Wood Skyscrapers Improve Urban Sustainability?
News Analysis
Plans to build a wood skyscraper in Tokyo will promote large-scale mass timber construction in cities.
-
Concrete Pours through Loophole in New Carbon Law
News Analysis
Buy Clean California requires contractors to specify lower-carbon products, but industry pressure quashed the law’s potential.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
-
Building Products Matter Even More Than We Thought
Op-Ed
Operational energy use is critical, but materials might be an even bigger part of the solution to climate change and other pressing environmental issues.
-
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.
-
FSC, LEED, and the Price of Perfectionism
Op-Ed
A hard line against industry-sponsored alternatives to FSC certification in the past may have unfortunate outcomes for the world’s forests.
-
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.
Learning Resources
A wide range of education options, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Certified Wood: How SFI Compares to FSC
Feature Article
FSC-certified wood is ingrained in rating systems like LEED, but rival SFI has a revised standard. Can it show it’s just as good on the issues that matter most?
-
Take Control of Your Materials: Four Empowering Lessons from Teams That Beat the Red List
Feature Article
Need to streamline your product vetting process? These LBC project teams have it down to a science, and anyone can apply their methods.
Just For Fun
Something weird happens every April at BuildingGreen...
- Check if your spelling is correct, or try removing filters.
- Remove quotes around phrases to match each word individually: "blue drop" will match less than blue drop.
- You can require or exclude terms using + and -: big +blue drop will require a match on blue while big blue -drop will exclude results that contain drop.
