Sustainable Materials
Parent
Sustainable Materials
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Finding Furniture Without Toxic Flame Retardants
Feature Article
Flame retardants in upholstered furniture are easier to avoid under new rules, but they’re not gone. Here’s how to navigate the changing landscape.
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Certified Wood: How SFI Compares to FSC
Feature Article
FSC-certified wood is ingrained in rating systems like LEED, but rival SFI has a revised standard. Can it show it’s just as good on the issues that matter most?
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Take Control of Your Materials: Four Empowering Lessons from Teams That Beat the Red List
Feature Article
Need to streamline your product vetting process? These LBC project teams have it down to a science, and anyone can apply their methods.
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Cool Products from the Latest Greenbuild Expo
Feature Article
We scoured the Greenbuild expo floor for the best new products and the most interesting updates. Then we whittled it down to these standouts.
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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Building Products and Health: A Look at Risk vs. Hazard
Explainer
Use of "hazard avoidance" versus "risk assessment" for understanding toxicity of building materials is hotly debated. Why, and is there a common-sense answer?
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Obesogens-A Fatty Issue
Explainer
A number of common chemicals are being found to influence the development of fat cells and contribute to obesity.
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Nanomaterials: How Big a Concern?
Explainer
Anytime the "nano" label is applied to a product or technology, it's worth getting clear about what it means.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Blanket and Batt Insulation
Product Guide
Batts and aerogel blankets with high recycled content, reduced air-quality concerns, or superior performance
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Blown Insulation
Product Guide
Blown-in products with high recycled content, superior energy performance, and low-toxicity ingredients
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Board Insulation
Product Guide
These insulation products and thermal breaks provide superior thermal performance and avoid common chemical hazards.
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Wallboard
Product Guide
Wallboard with high recycled content and Greenguard Gold certification
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Finding Better Materials for Affordable Housing
News Brief
The International Living Future Institute’s Declare database has added two filters to help find products that meet Enterprise Green Communities criteria.
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Buy Clean: Federal Funds to Have Low-carbon Strings Attached
News Brief
The Biden administration is going bigger on embodied carbon by committing to lower emissions from 98% of its construction material purchases. New standards will apply to all federally funded projects.
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Firm Shares Design Concept for a Maximally Adaptive Building
News Brief
The ‘Universal Building’ would be able to accommodate new uses as market needs shift, extending building life and minimizing waste.
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Grounding the AIA Materials Pledge in Data
News Analysis
With a Common Materials Framework, mindful Materials is mapping product labels to industry commitments.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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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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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.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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Just For Fun
Something weird happens every April at BuildingGreen...
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- Remove quotes around phrases to match each word individually: "blue drop" will match less than blue drop.
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