Kaiser Moves Away from PVC Roofing

The Environmental Stewardship Council of Kaiser Permanente, a leading health-maintenance organization, has announced that it will require all new roofing on its facilities to be PVC-free starting in January 2007. According to Tom Cooper, chair of the High Performance Buildings Committee at Kaiser, the new policy includes the option to continue the use of thermoplastic olefin (TPO) roofing membranes but does not require them. “There may be situations where TPO is not appropriate,” said Cooper, “so we want to be flexible in how the decision on the product selection is handled.”