by Zach Mortice
Associate Editor

Summary: Simply verifying the manufacture and performance of “green” building products has become nearly as big a challenge as the quest to rebalance the built environment with nature, which these products are trying to address. The allure of green has penetrated the entire design and construction consumer chain, and thus greenwashing is too tempting for some. But today, just as green building products are near industry-wide high points in popularity, trade associations, government agencies, and independent companies have stepped to the fore and are offering a variety of tools to separate performance from pretend.

Building Green has long been a leader in rigorous sustainable building product review, and the independent company has several services that evaluate a wide array of products. GreenSpec draws on the deep editorial experience of Building Green and their various publications to provide reviews of more than 2,000 sustainable building products. This service (which costs $199 per year) divides all products into five simple sustainability categories: those that conserve natural resources, avoid toxic or other emissions, use recycled content, save energy or water, and contribute to a safe and healthy environment. The editorial staff at Building Green selects products to review by getting online submissions from product manufacturers and by culling product information from the Construction Specification Institute’s GreenFormat online product questionnaires. They also select products to review thought ecoScoreCard, a database of manufacturer-submitted sustainable building products that compares how each product can work within voluntary building rating systems like LEED. ecoScoreCard asks architects and designers to comment and evaluate these products, and is free for them to use. Green Building Advisor is a Building Green subsidiary and offers sustainable residential product information for homebuilders, architects, and homeowners.

The Construction Specifications Institute’s GreenFormat product rating tool uses a comprehensive online survey that manufacturers fill out to assess and report on the sustainability of building products. This free, Web-based tool deals with carbon life cycle assessments of products, as well as embodied energy costs of manufacturing, construction, and facility operations.

The Sustainable Attributes Evaluation and Verification (SAVE) program, by the International Code Council, (ICC) evaluates products’ sustainability and generates reports that vouch for their quality. To participate, manufacturers invite ICC experts in to inspect their production processes and review independent product testing. Manufacturers that successfully complete the evaluation process receive a Verification of Attributes Report (VAR), which examines products’ use of recycled content, locally sourced materials, volatile organic compound (VOC) levels, certified wood, thermal integrity attributes, and other factors. This process addresses embodied manufacturing costs and works with voluntary rating systems.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program focuses on certifying water products that increase water use efficiency. Manufactures of water fixtures and water systems are invited to partner with the EPA and allow independent third party certifying bodies to evaluate their products. Successful products earn the WaterSense seal of approval. In general, WaterSense-certified products are approximately 20 percent more efficient than standard products.

The product certification and standards writing organization Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has developed its own sustainable products certifications system and database. The Environmental Claims Validation program uses the UL’s 64 labs to test the sustainability claims of product manufacturers. Once these claims have been tested and verified, the results are posted to the UL’s Database of Validated and Certified Products, a free and Web-based tool. This program looks at recycled content, locally sourced materials, VOC levels, energy efficiency, water efficiency, and more. Few products have been submitted to this new program so far.