FOR MORE INFO
Indoor airPLUS
epa.gov/indoorairplus
This EPA voluntary partnership
and labeling program was created
to build on Energy Star certifica-
tion with construction practices
and product specifications that
minimize exposure to airborne
pollutants and contaminants.WELL Building Standard
wellcertified.com
Introduced in 2015, this system
for measuring, certifying, and
monitoring the performance of
building features that impact
health and well being is adminis-
tered by the International WELLBuilding Institute and third-party
certified by Green Business
Certification Inc.LEED for Homes
usgbc/leed
This third-party certification pro-
gram, focused primarily on green
design, operation, and construc-
tion, includes credits for indoor air
quality and low-emitting materials.
Health is more prominent in the
newly released LEED v.4.International Living
Future Institute
living-future.org
The institute runs the Living Building
Challenge, a rigorous performance
standard that “defines the mostadvanced measure of sustainability
in the built environment possible
today.” It also oversees the Declare
label, which discloses ingredients
in products and materials through
the Declare product database.Healthy Building Network
healthybuilding.net
The Healthy Building Network,
along with BuildingGreen,
created the Health Product
Declaration Open Standard for
reporting product content and
associated health information.
Products and materials that
comply are included in the Pharos
Project, a database for identifying
health hazards associated with
building projects.Cradle to Cradle
c2ccertified.org
The Cradle to Cradle Certified
Product Standard provides “valida-
tion of manufacturers’ ongoing
commitment to sustainability and
their communities.” The Material
Health Certificate uses the same
methodology to recognize com-
panies that are working toward
“chemically optimized products.”Greenguard
greenguard.org
Part of UL Environment, a business
unit of Underwriters Laboratories,
Greenguard helps buyers identify
interior products and materials with
low chemical emissions via its free
online product guide.★
COST CONSIDERATIONS
When the USGBC issued the first LEED standards in 2000 , anything
labeled “nontoxic” or “low-VOC” was significantly more expensive than
other products in its category. Some builders haven’t looked closely at
products labeled green or healthy since. Jason McLennan, founder and
chair of the International Living Future Institute, thinks they should.
“It’s best not to make assumptions and recognize that the costs are
changing rapidly and for the better,” says McLennan, whose organization
drives transformation toward restorative structures and communities.
“Builders need to stay current and realize there are more and more healthy
products out there each year and more and more with no premium.”
Costs have come way down for Peter Johnson, whose company
Healthy Home Builders focuses on eliminating mold and water issues
and selecting nontoxic products in the homes it builds in New York and
Massachusetts. Healthy Home Builders includes energy recovery ven-
tilation systems and whole-house air and water filtration systems and
specs low- or zero-emitting materials. Four years ago, Johnson paid
three times more for formaldehyde-free plywood and had to import it
from California. Now, he says, it’s very competitive.
For example, Columbia Forest Products’ PureBond engineered wood
products made with soy-based glue are now ubiquitous. Formalde-
hyde-free fiberglass insulation, introduced in 2009 , has also become the
norm. The last pink batt bound together with a formaldehyde-based
formula rolled off the assembly line in 2015 , says Bill Walsh, president
of the board of directors for the Healthy Building Network, which he
founded in 2000 to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in building
products. “Today we don’t have to think about it anymore,” he says.
“That’s the place we want to get for builders.”
Healthier, affordable products and systems have found their way intoAir quality inside homes is
5 to 10 times more
toxic than outdoor air.- EPA
6 4 B U I L D E R BUILDERONLINE.COM