OVERVIEW
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:
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the least hazardous, most environmentally sustainable materials used in products
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environmental product declarations that can reveal the life-cycle impacts of materials
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standards and third-party certifications that provide important VOC criteria and other health and performance metrics
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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.
IN-DEPTH
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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.
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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.
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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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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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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.
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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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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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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.
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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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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.
