Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), developers of the global LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification program, and Underwriter Laboratories (UL), the world’s leading safety and certification group, have announced an exclusive strategic partnership centered on building product transparency and occupant health and safety.
The partnership, the first of its kind in the building and certification industry, will roll out several targeted initiatives focused on increasing disclosure, awareness and transparency of building product composition and the manufacturing processes. The goal of the program is to accelerate market transformation and the overall quality and performance of buildings.
The first initiative of the partnership is the creation of a joint Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). EPDs are a standardized way of quantifying the environmental impact of a product or system. The joint USGBC-UL EPDs are a solution to increase transparency in building materials and products that are being used in our buildings, homes, schools, hospitals and other structures.
“UL is the foremost established leader in the EPD field and is uniquely positioned to provide third party assurance for the LEED green building program. We are thrilled to engage in this partnership which we believe will make a great impact across the market – both for manufacturers that want to establish themselves as leaders in the marketplace and for consumers who are increasingly demanding transparency in what is being used to construct and maintain the places where they live, learn, work and play,” said USGBC President, CEO & Founding Chair Rick Fedrizzi.
“Lifecycle impacts and human health are two of the key underpinnings LEED. We believe in buildings and products that limit environmental impact from conception to completion and that optimize the health of our families, colleagues and customers. UL is the world’s leading safety consulting and certification group, and our partnership will advance that mission enormously,” continued Fedrizzi.
“USGBC, creators and developers of the global LEED Green Building Rating system, are natural strategic partners for the work that UL is continuing to lead in the marketplace,” stated Sara Greenstein, president of UL's Environment and Information and Insights Business Unit. “As a global leadership standard for green buildings, USGBC’s commitment to material transparency as a key component of human health and wellness in LEED makes for a partnership that will reverberate throughout the industry.”
Buyers are demanding to know the full extent of a product’s environmental and health impacts,” continued Greenstein. “Transparency into the impacts of a product at each stage of its lifecycle has become a critical driver of purchases and specifications. Since this market is still evolving, and because the quality and consistency of data can vary greatly, we are working diligently to ensure that buyers and LEED users can trust that the information on which they rely is accurate, and that it complies with the new credit requirements. This partnership between USGBC and UL will help businesses, individuals and project teams better understand the products they are including in their building projects, and have greater clarity about how those products can contribute to LEED credits,“ Greenstein concluded.
Scot Horst, Senior Vice President for Global Innovation and LEED at USGBC stated that USGBC would continue to forge strategic alliances such as these in the marketplace in order to drive the customer experience toward increased consumer education.
“As LEED continues to evolve and we look at how USGBC can continue to transform the marketplace, we know that increased consumer education and market knowledge will drive consumer choices to more responsible and sustainable products. This is the first time USGBC is tying the built environment to products that will receive LEED credit, which is a huge step toward preventing green-wash and clear consumer market choice.”
Horst continued, “This partnership will accelerate LEED in the marketplace and help maintain its leadership standard through technical rigor and stringency. Equally important, it will incentivize those product manufacturers out there who are doing amazing things with their products and establishing themselves as leaders within their industry. We want to create a system to reward them.”
EPDs provide a credit achievement path in LEED v4, the newest version of the LEED rating system that is being released this week at USGBC’s annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo. EPDs will help create avenues for future generations of LEED. “There is a great more to learn about life-cycle assessment and LEED and this USGBC UL partnership is the first step,” concluded Horst.
Related Stories
| Feb 1, 2012
Two new research buildings dedicated at the University of South Carolina
The two buildings add 208,000 square feet of collaborative research space to the campus.
| Jan 31, 2012
AIA CONTINUING EDUCATION: Reroofing primer, in-depth advice from the experts
Earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning units by studying this article and successfully completing the online exam.
| Jan 26, 2012
American Standard names Gould as president and CEO
Gould succeeds Don Devine, who led the successful turnaround of American Standard Brands.
| Jan 15, 2012
Hollister Construction Services oversees interior office fit-out for Harding Loevner
The work includes constructing open space areas, new conference, trading and training rooms, along with multiple kitchenettes.Â
| Jan 12, 2012
3M takes part in Better Buildings Challenge
As a partner in the challenge, 3M has committed to reduce energy use by 25% in 78 of its plants, encompassing nearly 38 million-sf of building space.
| Jan 9, 2012
METALCON International 2012 announced
METALCON 2012 is scheduled for Oct. 9-11 at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center, Hall A, Rosemont, Ill.
| Jan 6, 2012
New Walgreen's represents an architectural departure
The structure's exterior is a major departure from the corporate image of a traditional Walgreens design.
| Jan 4, 2012
New LEED Silver complex provides space for education and research
The academic-style facility supports education/training and research functions, and contains classrooms, auditoriums, laboratories, administrative offices and library facilities, as well as spaces for operating highly sophisticated training equipment.
| Jan 3, 2012
BIM: not just for new buildings
Ohio State University Medical Center is converting 55 Medical Center buildings from AutoCAD to BIM to improve quality and speed of decision making related to facility use, renovations, maintenance, and more.Â
| Jan 3, 2012
New SJI Rule on Steel Joists
A new rule from the Steel Joist Institute clarifies when local reinforcement of joists is required for chord loads away from panel points. SJI members offer guidance about how and when to specify loads.
