APPENDIX D
Summary of Product Standards for Green Specifications

This list is used with permission from “Building Materials: What Makes a Product Green?” Environmental Building News 9(1) (January 2000), by Alex Wilson, E Build, Inc. Brattleboro, VT, and Dorothy Payton, environmental designer and consultant, Portland, OR.

1. Products made from environmentally attractive materials

   Products that reduce material use

   Salvaged products

   Products with post-consumer recycled content

   Products with post-industrial recycled content

   Certified wood products

   Products made from agricultural waste material

   Natural or minimally processes products

2. Products that are green because of what is not there

   Alternatives to ozone-depleting substances

   Alternatives to products made with PVC and polycarbonate

   Alternatives to conventional preservative treated wood

   Alternatives to other components considered hazardous (asbestos, mercury, chromium, lead, radiation)

3. Products that reduce environmental impacts during construction, renovation, or demolition

   Products that reduce the impacts of new construction

   Products that reduce the impacts of renovation

   Products that reduce the impacts of demolition

4. Products that reduce environmental impacts of building operation

   Building components that reduce heating and cooling loads

   Equipment that conserves energy

   Renewable energy (fuel cell, solar, wind, small turbine) equipment

   Fixtures and equipment that conserve water

   Products with exceptional durability or low maintenance requirements

   Products that prevent pollution or reduce waste

   Products that reduce or eliminate pesticide treatments

5. Products that contribute to safe, healthy indoor air environment

   Products that don't release significant pollutants into the building

   Products that block development and spread of indoor contaminant

   Products that remove indoor pollutants

   Products that warn occupants of health hazards in the building

   Products that improve light quality

6. Products that promote social equity and justice, and teach/remind/connect us to one another, the planet, spirit, life force

   Products manufactured employing fair labor

   Products attentive to and mitigating of environmental justice issues

   Products that develop sustainable economics/local green wealth

   Products that address health and safety concerns during manufacturing, installation, and operation

   Products that are modeled, mentored, and measured by nature

SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA

Key questions should include:

• What makes it “green”? What are the criteria generally used?
• Which attribute has the most significant negative impact?
• For any given product (structure, system, strategy), what is its most earth-friendly attribute?
• What is its least earth-friendly attribute?

Products made from environmentally attractive materials are

• Sized or made to reduce use and waste
• Salvaged
• Made from recycled content (post-industrial, post-consumer, post-agricultural)
• Sustainably gathered or harvested (e.g., FSC certified)
• Rapidly renewable (bio-based)
• Mindful of life cycle assessment issues (ecological footprint, species and habitat preservation and restoration)
• Locally harvested/manufactured/assembled

Products that are green because of what is not there are

• Ozone-friendly
• PVC/polycarbonate-free
• Pesticide free
• Heavy metal free
• Other bio-accumulative toxins free
• Low in embodied energy
• Free of unnecessary finishes or layers

Practices and strategies that reduce environmental impacts during construction, renovation, demolition, or manufacturing

• Soil horizon protection: compaction, excavation
• Erosion and sedimentation prevention
• Efficient and effective use of raw materials
• Existing materials can be saved for reuse or donation
• Solid waste management separable
• Storm water management: use of permeable surfaces

Products that reduce the environmental impacts of building operation are

• Energy conserving/energy efficient
• Renewable sources of energy
• Water conserving/water efficient
• Multipurpose
• Life cycle cost issues (durability, maintenance and repair considerations)

Products that contribute to a safe, healthy indoor air environment

• Are non-polluting
• Consider indoor air quality and are low in VOC, allergens, particulates, combustion, byproducts, and fragrances