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
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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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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A Chemical Database and Discussion Group in One
News Brief
The Chemical Hazard Data Commons is a resource on toxic chemicals for geeks and newbies alike.
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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.
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California Law Uses Environmental Product Declarations to Drive Low-Carbon Procurement
News Analysis
Buy Clean California is the first law in the nation to address embodied carbon in construction materials.
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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.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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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.
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Opinion: Seven Things Manufacturers Wish You Understood About EPDs
Op-Ed
Some manufacturers say creating EPDs has improved their products. But they also have important messages for the design community.
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Adhesives and Sealants: Performance First, but Materials Matter
Blog Post
Exterior adhesives and sealants are formulated for performance, but some contain chemicals that pose risks to unprotected workers or the environment.
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Transparency in Action: Health Product Declaration Ramping Up
Blog Post
Life-cycle assessment, environmental product declarations, and corporate social responsibility reporting are a great start. But can we talk about health?
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.