Figuring Out What Is Green and How Green It Is
At Greenbuild 2009, we saw great progress in the development of software and labeling programs that just a year ago were good ideas needing implementation. While many rating systems have made great progress, they risk alienating small, entrepreneurial manufacturers due to fees and associated costs. Some interesting players to watch include:
Healthy Building Network’s Pharos Lens
What it is: A comprehensive online materials evaluation tool.
What we like:
-The vision – 16 attributes that cover 3 broad categories (Health, Environment, and Social).
-Starting point – the first 4 attributes rated cover toxicity and health issues at different stages of production and use. A gap in other rating systems.
-100 products have been rated, 100 more are in the pipeline.
-Next step – next year at this time, they expect to launch the attributes related to Social issues related to sustainability – an area that no other system is addressing at this time.
Considerations: This is a marathon project that will take years to fully realize the vision but this organization has the stamina to get it done. Vote with your $’s – if you like it, support it with a $75 membership. Pharos does not charge manufacturers to participate and they provide feedback to manufacturers at no cost so they have the information they need to continually improve their processes.
ecoScoreCard
What it is: An online database driven engine that facilitates specifying and documenting green products against the USGBC’s LEED rating systems.
What we like:
-Easy - you choose a product from the database (down to the exact sku), enter the quantity, and price and the software will tell you exactly which LEED credits it will contribute to and how much. It even knows where the product is manufactured and will indicate if it contributes to the regionally sourced credit.
-Reporting – the report is exactly what you need for LEED documentation. This will make specification and documentation a breeze.
Considerations: With 27 manufacturers currently in the database (heavy on flooring options from the big guys), it isn’t broad enough to provide comparisons between products. Cost may limit participation from smaller manufacturers.
The Athena Institute’s EcoCalculator
What it is: a database of Life Cycle Assessment information for common building assemblies.
What we like:
-Comprehensive - Hundreds of building assemblies
-The sources – ATHENA Impact Estimator for buildings and the US Life Cycle Inventory Database are quickly becoming the standard in building LCA
-Track record – used in the Green Globes rating system for years, recently adopted for use in the USGBC’s LCA pilot credit.
Considerations: LCA is a complicated, multi-diciplinary science. Event the best LCA tools have gaps and biases in the data that can distort results, overemphasize some impacts while totally hiding other ones. Using a tool that provides the user with a score may guide the user away from a good understanding of the full environmental health impacts and can lead to materials decisions that do not actually reflect the user's goals.
Except for Pharos, all other systems require manufacturers to pay for certification, inclusion, or LCA. This business model will skew databases toward the largest manufactures and therefore the industry will have a bias against small, entrepreneurial manufacturers.
We look forward to seeing how these tools continue to develop.
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