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.
-
Stone, The Original Green Building Material
Feature Article
Stone is natural and durable, emits no VOCs, requires almost no maintenance, and provides a connection to the earth and our history.
-
Getting Flame Retardants Out of Foam Insulation
Feature Article
In an effort to eliminate the use of halogenated flame retardants, building code changes are being proposed by a group of fire experts, architects, chemists, and environmentalists.
-
The Hidden Science of High-Performance Building Assemblies
Feature Article
Any four walls and a roof make an enclosure, but for efficiency, comfort, and durability, those elements have to be meticulously designed and installed.
-
Seal, Tape, Gasket: A Sticky Search for Better Materials
Feature Article
Given the importance of sealing hidden joints in our air and water barriers, you'd think we'd know how long our sealants, adhesives, and gaskets last.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
- 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.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
-
Kinetex: Just Don't Call It a Carpet Tile
Product Review
Kinetex is a hybrid: thinner and more durable than carpet tile, this "textile composite flooring" is suited for hard-surface tile applications.
-
Measuring Drywall Against Environmental Standards
Product Review
Drywall is one of the most ubiquitous building materials. A new UL standard aims to reduce its energy impact and toxicity in landfills.
-
Knoll, Steelcase in Lead with Level 3 Certified Products
Product Review
Two years after the "level" furniture certification program was developed by BIFMA, six products and products lines meet the most rigorous of the certifications-level 3.
-
BuildingGreen Announces 2010 Top-10 Green Products
Product Review
BuildingGreen announces its 2010 Top-10 Green Products, with exciting entries drawn from the GreenSpec directory and coverage in Environmental Building News.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
-
Healthy Building Network Launches Online Forum
News Brief
The forum invites affordable housing designers to join HBN experts and others to ask questions and share information on material health.
-
EPA to Regulate Hazardous Chemicals in Building Materials
News Analysis
Asbestos, HBCD, and other chemicals face restrictions under the new Toxic Substances Control Act.
-
Behind Humanscale’s Living Product Challenge Certification
News Analysis
Going big, committing early, and removing unneeded chemistry were key ingredients in certifying the Diffrient chair and Float table under LPC.
-
Legal Wood in LEED Barks Up Wrong Tree, Say NGOs
News Analysis
A pilot credit to address illegal logging has been criticized by advocacy groups like the Sierra Club. They’ve offered USGBC their own ideas.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
- 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.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
- 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.
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.
