Trade groups form task force to further transparency and optimization of building product ingredients

The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, together with the Healthy Building Network, Health Product Declaration Collaborative, and Clean Production Action, have announced a collaborative effort to further transparency and optimization of building product ingredients.

Supported by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Harmonization Task Group will offer marketplace benefits, including consistent messaging, simplification, elimination of redundancies, and creation of more accurate, faster and, less costly assessments.

The cross-program platform will allow for a variety of pathways for improvement depending on a manufacturer’s goals and readiness, while increasing the rigor of product ingredient information, improving the knowledge of product ingredients in support of optimization, accelerating manufacturer participation by simplifying the ability to get started on the material health path, automating health hazard assessments, and providing a clear progressive path toward optimization.

“This is an opportunity to align efforts and share knowledge to accelerate material health and product innovation,” said Scot Horst, Sr. Vice President of LEED. “The Institute is an important part of this ecosystem, bringing the visionary Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Program to scale over the last several years. We are convinced we can get further faster by supporting product innovation and material health with a unified community.”

The Harmonization Task Group builds on the conclusions and recommendations from the Material Health Evaluation Programs Harmonization Opportunities Report published by the USGBC on August 30, 2013. The report found substantial overlap in the methodology and best practices used by leaders in the material health ecosystem. The Task Group plans to coordinate efforts by synchronizing the inventory, screening, and hazard assessment protocols to streamline the process for manufacturers. 

“The USGBC is unique in its ability to pull together the leading voices in safer materials and products,” said Bridgett Luther, President of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. “We are very excited to be included in this ‘dream team.’ Working together will make it easier for manufacturers to improve their products, remove chemical hazards, and chart a path towards positive materials.”

The Health Product Declaration (HPD), GreenScreen, and Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Program are currently undergoing multi-stakeholder revisions processes, which provide an opportunity for further alignment. The Harmonization Task Group supports each organization in facilitating its own revision process and enables cross-organizational participation in each other’s revisions processes.