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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Five Ways Project Teams Are Using HPDs
Feature Short
An architect, a specifier, and a building owner walk into a bar. Then they talk about how ingredient transparency informs their work.
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In Search of High-Quality Hazard Data: HPDs Have Promise, but Most Aren’t Helpful Yet
Feature Short
HPD version 1.0’s promise of greater material transparency didn’t always deliver, but version 2.0 should provide accurate reporting.
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Dances with Hazards: How Real Experts Pull Human Health into Design
Feature Short
John and Catherine prove that designers can work successfully with HPDs, especially if they have a toxicology consultant to support their multi-faceted selection process.
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What’s an EPD? Environmental Product Declaration FAQs
Feature Short
We answer FAQs on EPDs, which allow manufacturers to disclose a product’s carbon footprint and other impacts.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Chemical Footprinting: Companies Take Stock of Their Toxic Impact
Primer
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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Safety Sheets Getting New Format—And Some New Data
Primer
The new Globally Harmonized System for the MSDS will make reporting requirements stricter and should make the forms easier to read.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Reality Check for LEED v4 Product Credits
News Analysis
The three “Disclosure and Optimization” or “BPDO” credits in LEED v4 include both some pretty easy points and points that are not yet achievable.
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GreenScreen Launches Certification for Textile Chemicals
News Brief
The hazard assessment program jumps into the certification business to promote textile chemicals with reduced health hazards.
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HPD User Guide Helps with LEED, WELL Product Selection
News Brief
Just in time for LEED v4, a guide for using Health Product Declarations is being released.
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“Product Lens” Focuses on Whether Chemicals Can Harm Us
News Analysis
UL’s new take on ingredient transparency uses the Cradle to Cradle screening method while adding notes on exposure risks.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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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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Opinion: EPDs Are One Small Step for Design Professionals, a Giant Leap for Industry
Op-Ed
Uptake of life-cycle assessment will produce huge amounts of data that designers can use to reduce whole-building impacts.
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Opinion: Orwellian EPDs Ignore the Worst Impacts of Wood, Vinyl
Op-Ed
Although life-cycle assessment has great promise, in the wrong hands it can be used for greenwashing.
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Opinion: How EPDs Are Improving Our Products—A Manufacturer’s Perspective
Op-Ed
Some manufacturers wonder if EPDs are worth the effort. Yes—and the business case is stronger than the marketing case.
Learning Resources
A wide range of education options, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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