Ul Environment To Develop Green Building Standards For New Categories

UL Environment (ULE) announced at the U.S. Green Building Council’s 2009 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Phoenix that it intends to develop

UL Environment (ULE) announced at the U.S. Green Building Council’s 2009 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Phoenix that it intends to develop standards for sustainability in five new industry categories covering multiple products: 1) stone, ceramic, clay and glass building materials; 2) glazing materials, windows and associated hardware/accessories; 3) doors and related hardware; 4) mineral board, fiberboard and wallboard; and, 5) suspended ceiling materials and systems. The new sustainability standards will draw on input from UL Environment Standard Technical Panels (STPs), comprised of stakeholder manufacturers, government entities, consumer interest groups, product installers, users, distributors and testing organizations.

ULE anticipates drafts of all sustainability standards announced in 2009 to be ready by the end of 2010. The standards will establish environmental requirements for the building products, using environmental criteria based on life-cycle impacts and health effects of the associated materials. Minimum environmental requirements and a progressive and tiered approach created by the standards will allow sustainability leaders to highlight their achievements. Moreover, ULE validation will help manufacturers achieve the NAHB Research Center Green Approved product seal, qualifying products to earn points toward National Green Building Certification under the ICC-700 National Green Building Standard.

Since its early-2009 launch, ULE has made several announcements regarding top companies participating in its Environmental Claims Validation (ECV) program. The first to achieve an ECV from ULE was Serious Materials for EcoRock, a green alternative to standard drywall. More recently, Owens Corning submitted to ULE’s ECV program, validating claims of environmental sustainability for its Cultured Stone and ProStone lines. Containing a minimum of 35 percent recycled content, these products represent the first manufactured stone veneer products to receive third-party validation of recycled-content claims.

The building industry is one of the first industries to see concentrated efforts for sustainability, including building with sustainable design and energy efficiency, notes UL Environment President Steve Wenc. It has been the first to begin to prove environmental claims within product categories, and it makes sense for us to start here in terms of development of environmental standards for the industry. Û www.ulenvironment.com