Material Transparency
Material transparency allows building professionals to research hidden product impacts like embodied carbon, toxic ingredients or byproducts, and social responsibility in the supply chain.
Manufacturers may release many types of documents in order to facilitate transparency. These include:
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Environmental product declarations (EPDs), which show the environmental impacts of producing and disposing of a product
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Health product declarations (HPDs), which disclose ingredients and their toxicity profiles
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Corporate sustainability reports, which look at the overall environmental impacts of a whole company
Material Transparency
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Getting the EPD Credit in LEED v4: Atlanta Stadium
Feature Short
Innovations go far deeper than a stunning, biomimetic roof. The Atlanta Falcons’ new stadium aims to bring green building to the masses.
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Apples to Pineapples: Four Reasons You Can’t Compare EPDs
Feature Short
We’d love to use transparency tools to compare products “apples-to-apples.” But we’ve got a long way to go.
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The DNA of EPDs: The Making of Product Category Rules
Feature Short
PCRs are the instruction manuals behind EPDs. They’re supposed to provide foolproof rules for conducting LCAs, but they can also be the system’s fatal flaw.
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Getting the EPD Credit in LEED v4: Canada Green Building Council Fit-Out
Feature Short
How to earn the LEED v4 credit for EPDs, from a Canadian practitioner helping design CaGBC’s new office
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Safety Sheets Getting New Format—And Some New Data
Explainer
The new Globally Harmonized System for the MSDS will make reporting requirements stricter and should make the forms easier to read.
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Chemical Footprinting: Companies Take Stock of Their Toxic Impact
Explainer
Harmful chemicals are more difficult to quantify than carbon emissions but are equally destructive. Now you can track manufacturers’ chemical footprints.
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How to Read an EPD: 7 Tips from the Field (Video)
Explainer
In this short video primer, Arup engineer Frances Yang explains how to get what you need from environmental product declarations.
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Understanding GreenScreen and List Translator Benchmarks
Explainer
The Health Product Declaration and some other programs ask for GreenScreen benchmarks. What does that actually mean?
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Unmilled Timber Frames Go High Tech, Replacing Steel
Product Review
Keep the beauty of round logs, and get more strength from an engineered wood structure, promises Wisconsin-based company WholeTrees.
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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.
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Mineral Wool Batts Now Formaldehyde-Free
Product Review
Thermafiber and Roxul have introduced the first formaldehyde-free mineral wool batt insulations, following the example set by the fiberglass insulation industry.
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A New Halogen-Free Polyiso Insulation from GAF
Product Review
GAF now offers a full line of polyisocyanurate foam insulation that is free of toxic halogenated flame retardants.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Architects Push for Clearer EPDs with 2030 Challenge
News Analysis
Input from practitioners is needed, says Architecture 2030, to develop a more readable format for life-cycle data and environmental product declarations.
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Vinyl Roofing Membrane EPD Details Cradle-to-Grave Impacts
News Analysis
More trade groups are publishing industry-wide environmental product declarations to meet LEED v4 requirements.
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New Thinkstep Launchpad for Sustainability Apps Bolstered by LCA Data
News Analysis
Rebranded as thinkstep, the life-cycle assessment firm PE International promises a new platform to integrate product data and more.
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Can Products Do More Good Than Harm? The Living Product Challenge
News Analysis
ILFI is challenging companies to make a product with a positive “handprint” rather than a “footprint.” And it has to be affordable.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Opinion: Chemical Ingredients in Building Products—What Do You Really Need to Know?
Op-Ed
HPDs can’t be used in isolation to make decisions about the safety and environmental performance of a product.
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Finding HPDs: How We Do It At BuildingGreen
Op-Ed
There are several ways you can find Health Product Declarations. Here’s a look at them, including what BuildingGreen offers.
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Opinion: Transparency Is Just the Beginning—How Manufacturers Can Use HPDs
Op-Ed
Ingredient inventories and assessment are important. But ultimately, we need to design for an indefinite future.
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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.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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