Green Building Product Certifications Webinar: Continuing the discussion

How to tell green from greenwash? Our free recorded webinar is available below, and we're also using this space to answer questions from the live webcast. Enjoy!

We just finished our first webinar on Green Building Product Certifications, and I promised people on the call that I'd create a blog post to continue the discussion – so here it is. To get us started, I've answered a few of the questions that we didn't get to in the webinar Q&A. If I didn't address your question yet feel free to ask again. Also, if you have any tips for your peers, any updates for us, or other issues to raise, we welcome that too. First, logistics: I was asked this: "Is there much information covered in the "Green Building Product Certifications" that BuildingGreen is selling online, that was not covered in this webinar? Would it be worthwhile to purchase this, even after attending the class?" The answer is of course, yes! Though I tried to cover as much as feasible in the webinar, the report has quite a bit of additional detail and perspective. You can purchase it here.

Ok, back to the Q&A: Q: An easy one: GreenerProduct just came out--is there rigor to this in your opinion? A: Here's what I wrote about it in a prior blog post (the post was an errata/update to the Certifications Report, so if you buy the report, check out the post as well[JA3]): The Greener Product online directory has launched a new "Greener Product Certified" label. This label appears to be paperwork verification of 3rd party certifications and manufacturer supplied data against the requirements of LEED and NAHB, with an on site audit scheduled on occasion to confirm the regional resource provision. Q: Have you prepared a similar level of certification/standard overview for cleaning products that are required for existing building operations?A: No, not yet. I keep wondering if it's time for GreenSpec to really tackle products for operations – or if others already have that covered. If enough people need it, we'll do it. Green Seal certification – which I did mention in the webinar - covers a number of different consumable items for operations. It is a robust third-party Type I ecolabel, and I'd certainly suggest referencing them – but I haven't dug into all the other labels out there. Unfortunately I'm out of time for now – but feel free to ask your certification questions here, or provide any other perspective, tips for your peers, etc. that you think is pertinent.

UPDATE: Relive the magic!

The complete webinar is now available online. You can watch the whole thing again right here, go over parts you didn't catch the first time, or send it to a friend who missed it. Post follow-up questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer.