Denver, CO, November 15, 2006—BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of the GreenSpec Directory and Environmental Building News, has announced the 2006 Top-10 Green Building Products. This fifth annual award, announced at the U.S. Green Building Council's Greenbuild Conference in Denver, recognizes the most exciting products drawn from additions to the GreenSpec Directory and coverage in Environmental Building News.
"The range of product types showing exemplary innovation is amazing," said GreenSpec co-editor Alex Wilson. Three of BuildingGreen's winning products this year have the primary environmental attribute of saving energy. Two products save water. Three products are green in part because they are made from recycled waste; one is a system of salvaging material. Rounding out the list are an innovative way of turning an ordinary material, concrete, into one of the best flooring options for commercial buildings, and a provider of renewable energy credits, an excellent way for any building owner to support renewable energy. "Most of the Top-10 products this year have multiple environmental attributes," said Wilson. BuildingGreen's Top-10 product selections, as in previous years, are drawn primarily from new additions to the company's GreenSpec product directory. More than 250 product listings have been added to the GreenSpec database during the past year. "New products seem to be appearing at an ever-faster pace," said Wilson. The GreenSpec database his company maintains now includes more than 2,100 product listings. Not all GreenSpec product listings or Top-10 selections are new to the market. "While many of the products we add to GreenSpec are brand new and innovative, others have been around for a while." said Wilson. "In some cases, we like to see evidence of success in the real world before recognizing green products." A big driver in the development of green products continues to be the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Rating System (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which awards points for the use of certain product types or for the energy or water savings that green products can achieve. "Designers of LEED buildings are looking for green products, and manufacturers are responding," said Wilson. In the online version of GreenSpec, users can find products organized by LEED credits. The 2006 Top-10 Green Building Products are:
* Polished concrete system from RetroPlate
* Underwater standing timber salvage by Triton Logging
* PaperStone Certified composite surface material from KlipTech Composites, Inc.
* Varia and "100 Percent" recycled-content panel products from 3form, Inc.
* Recycled-content interior molding from Timbron International
* SageGlass tintable glazing from Sage Electrochromics
* Water-efficient showerhead with H2Okinetic technology from Delta
* WeatherTRAK smart irrigation controls from HydroPoint Data Systems, Inc.
* Coolerado Cooler advanced, indirect evaporative air conditioner from Coolerado, LLC
* Renewable Energy Credits from Community Energy, Inc.
For more: http://www2.buildinggreen.com/press/buildinggreen-announces-2006-top-10-green-building-products
About GreenSpec Directory: GreenSpec is the leading national directory of green building products. Products are selected by editors of Environmental Building News (EBN) based on criteria developed over the past 15 years. Manufacturers do not pay to be listed in GreenSpec, and neither GreenSpec nor any other BuildingGreen publication carries advertising; both are supported exclusively by users of the information. "Our policy of not accepting money from manufacturers allows us to be objective in our review of products," said Wilson. A new 7th edition of the printed GreenSpec Directory will be published in 2007. The GreenSpec product database is also available online as part of BuildingGreen Suite, which is growing quickly in popularity. Environmental Building News, founded in 1992, is the oldest and most widely respected newsletter in the green building field. For information on BuildingGreen resources, visit www.BuildingGreen.com or call 800-861-0954.
