by Shane Henson — November 27, 2013—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 worldwide safety and certification group, recently announced an exclusive strategic partnership centered on building product transparency and occupant health and safety.
The partnership, reportedly 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 buildings, homes, schools, hospitals and other structures.
As noted by Sara Greenstein, president of UL’s Environment and Information and Insights Business Unit, buyers are demanding to know the full extent of a product’s environmental and health impacts.
“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,” Greenstein said. “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.”
