Material Transparency
Material transparency allows building professionals to research hidden product impacts like embodied carbon, toxic ingredients or byproducts, and social responsibility in the supply chain.
Manufacturers may release many types of documents in order to facilitate transparency. These include:
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Environmental product declarations (EPDs), which show the environmental impacts of producing and disposing of a product
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Health product declarations (HPDs), which disclose ingredients and their toxicity profiles
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Corporate sustainability reports, which look at the overall environmental impacts of a whole company
Material Transparency
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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What’s an EPD? Environmental Product Declaration FAQs
Feature Short
We answer FAQs on EPDs, which allow manufacturers to disclose a product’s carbon footprint and other impacts.
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Wood, Concrete, and Steel—And Their Incomparable EPDs
Feature Short
Don’t expect the turf battles over sustainability of structural systems to be settled anytime soon by EPDs.
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EPDs Will Change How We Build—But Slowly (Executive Summary)
Feature Short
Are EPDs actually going to have an impact on sustainable design and construction practices? Eventually. Just don’t get caught up in the hype.
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How to Use EPDs in Your Practice: Advice from Designers
Feature Short
Sure, you can just check a box for LEED v4. But the data can also inform your project, if you use it wisely.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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The 12 Product Rules
Infographic
These 12 product rules provide a simple approach to selecting better, healthier, and more environmentally responsible building products and materials.
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HPD Quick-Start Guide: 5 Easy Steps
Infographic
How to get solid information from a Health Product Declaration (HPD), in just five steps.
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The 8 Shades of Greenwash: How Many Do You Recognize?
Infographic
Most building products these days have an environmental angle to their sales pitches. Many are legit, but as ever, you still have to watch for the telltale signs of greenwash—the practice of inventing or exaggerating the environmental benefits of a product.
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EPD Quick-Start Guide: 5 Easy Steps
Infographic
Use these tips to get what you need from an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), fast.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Wallboard
Product Guide
Wallboard with high recycled content and Greenguard Gold certification
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An Air Barrier Engineered for Real-World Jobsites
Product Review
The continuity of air and water barriers depends on the quality of workmanship, and Prosoco’s Cat 5 system is hard to get wrong.
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ECOS Challenges Paint Industry to Disclose Ingredients
Product Review
ECOS Paints ignored “trade secret” complaints made by other manufacturers and now makes the first paints designated Red List Free for the Living Building Challenge.
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At David Edward, Material Transparency Is a Given
Product Review
Tracking materials is standard practice at David Edward, giving the company an edge in a market where transparency is a priority.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Setting Carbon Footprint Rules for Concrete
News Analysis
New rules standardize how we calculate the carbon footprint and other impacts of concrete.
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Transparency Is the Secret Ingredient in "Declare" Products
News Analysis
Several dozen products are now participating in the Declare database, supporting Living Building Challenge documentation and ingredient disclosure.
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Vinyl Group Launches Reporting Label for Toxic Chemicals
News Analysis
Flooring manufacturers and their Product Transparency Declaration (PTD) will compete with the Health Product Declaration (HPD) format for industry acceptance.
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New EHS Transparency Tool Based on Cradle to Cradle Program
News Analysis
A new way to report product ingredients, the Environmental and Health Statement, puts yet another spin on transparency.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Opinion: EPDs Are One Small Step for Design Professionals, a Giant Leap for Industry
Op-Ed
Uptake of life-cycle assessment will produce huge amounts of data that designers can use to reduce whole-building impacts.
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Opinion: Orwellian EPDs Ignore the Worst Impacts of Wood, Vinyl
Op-Ed
Although life-cycle assessment has great promise, in the wrong hands it can be used for greenwashing.
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Opinion: How EPDs Are Improving Our Products—A Manufacturer’s Perspective
Op-Ed
Some manufacturers wonder if EPDs are worth the effort. Yes—and the business case is stronger than the marketing case.
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Opinion: Seven Things Manufacturers Wish You Understood About EPDs
Op-Ed
Some manufacturers say creating EPDs has improved their products. But they also have important messages for the design community.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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The BuildingGreen Guide to Building Product Certifications and Ecolabels
Special Report
This BuildingGreen publication provides a no-nonsense guide to the world of green building product certifications to help designers, purchasers, manufacturers, and others in the industry to focus on what is significant and relevant so that market forces can work and the industry can focus on bigger issues.
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The BuildingGreen Guide to Building Product Certifications and Ecolabels- Discounted
Special Report
This BuildingGreen publication provides a no-nonsense guide to the world of green building product certifications to help designers, purchasers, manufacturers, and others in the industry to focus on what is significant and relevant so that market forces can work and the industry can focus on bigger issues.
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Wood Certifications: Comparing Programs and Their Impacts
Spotlight Report
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Wood Certifications: How FSC, PEFC, and SFI Compare
Feature Article
Do wood certifications from FSC, PEFC, and SFI do what they claim? We analyzed forestry standards to find the most reliable markers of responsible sourcing.
