To help architects, interior designers, building owners, and other specifiers better understand the environmental impacts of its commercial ceiling products, Armstrong has issued Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for nine of its most popular ceiling and suspension systems.
Armstrong ceiling lines for which EPDs are now available include high-performance ceiling products Tierra, Optima, Ultima, Ultima Ceiling-2-Ceiling, Cirrus, and Mesa,plus standard product families Dune, Fine Fissured, and Cortega.
An EPD is a standardized, internationally recognized, comprehensive tool for providing information on a product’s environmental impact. Information in the document is based on an ISO-compliant Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and verified by a third party.
The detailed analysis considers all processes in the life cycle of a product, including raw material extraction and refining, energy use and efficiency during manufacture, transportation methods, and end-of-service-life recycling.
EPDs are issued within clearly defined product groups based on product category rules. Armstrong has published EPDs for high performance mineral fiber, fiberglass, and BioAcoustic fiber, as well as standard mineral fiber families. The high-performance families combine superior performance in acoustics, light reflectance, durability, recycled content, and recyclability, in addition to the new life cycle impact information.
EPDs can also contribute to LEED credits. At this time, LEED Pilot Credit 61: Material Disclosure and Assessment allocates credit to products that have an accompanying EPD. LEED 2012 will most likely incorporate a new credit for EPDs on products as well.
“Architects and designers are increasingly demanding transparent data that supports claims of the environmental sustainability of the products they select,” said Anita Snader, environmental sustainability manager for Armstrong Commercial Ceilings. “Our new EPDs provide a holistic view of the environmental impacts and key performance features of those products.”
To help end users better understand the new documentation, Armstrong prepared a short video that takes a quick look at LCAs and EPDs. It can be viewed at www.armstrong.com/epd.
New Online CEU Course Offered
Armstrong has also prepared a new free online continuing education unit (CEU) titled “Life Cycle Assessments and Environmental Product Declarations: The Next Level of Transparency.”
Completion of the course qualifies for one continuing education hour toward the USGBC Green Building Certification Institute’s (GBCI) Credential Maintenance program. The course also provides a continuing education unit by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). To access the new CEU, visit armstrong.com/CEU.
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