by Shane Henson — December 6, 2013—In recognition of the need for greater disclosure and removal of hazardous chemicals from building materials, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently announced that it will begin including the toxicity of chemicals in materials as part of its LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification, and is offering credits in its LEED v.4 standard for the GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals program. Companies that disclose and screen out hazardous chemicals using the GreenScreen can earn points under their materials and resources credits, says the USGBC.
GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals, developed by the Massachusetts-based nonprofit Clean Production Action, is a method for comparative chemical hazard assessment. It is used by a wide range of professionals, governmental bodies, nonprofits, businesses, formulators, and product developers, and anybody interested in assessing the inherent hazards of chemicals and their potential effect on human health and the environment.
Under the newly launched LEED v.4, manufacturers can acquire two credits—one through disclosure and the other through the elimination of highly hazardous chemical ingredients. Companies can earn the disclosure credit by identifying ingredients in building products using the Health Product Declaration. For manufacturers who do not wish to disclose certain chemicals in their products, they can do a full GreenScreen assessment of those chemicals and report, according to the LEED credit.
Manufacturers can qualify for a second LEED credit if their products do not contain GreenScreen Benchmark 1 chemicals. This can be determined by using the GreenScreen List Translator, a compilation of authoritative and well-vetted lists of hazardous chemicals, or the full GreenScreen assessment for increased value. In addition, GreenScreen assessments can now be used toward Cradle-to-Cradle certification, which provides another pathway to the LEED credits, says the USGBC.
“We welcome the adoption of GreenScreen into LEED v.4,” said Lauren Heine, director of the GreenScreen program. “GreenScreen is becoming a global standard for chemical hazard assessment, and its use in the building sector will help drive green chemistry innovation in this sector.”
