Specifying Architectural Coatings for Commercial Green Building Projects  

Original photography by Bethany Nauert. Paint color by Behr Paint Company

Coatings and finishes are widely used in commercial buildings, making it essential to focus on the details of their formulation. This attention is key to specifying sustainable solutions that benefit both the environment and human health.

Sustainability and green building don’t happen by chance; they’re the outcome of intentional and thoughtful choices made by today’s building professionals. The journey begins by defining the green building design goals, whether it’s making basic design and specification choices, incorporating a moderate level of green initiatives, or striving for the highest level of sustainability. Green building objectives can be largely determined by a decision to certify the building project under a green building program such as LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) or WELL®. Alternatively, a decision may be made not to pursue certification under a green building program but to adopt some elements of these programs to inform the program objectives. Once goals are set, a variety of environmental transparency documents and third-party certifications can be utilized to evaluate products and guide informed specification decisions aligned with the project’s sustainability goals.

This course focuses on how this process applies specifically to paints and coatings, which are integral to nearly every building project. It explores their impact on the natural environment, indoor air quality, and human health, while also providing insights and best practices for specifying more sustainable options.

Determining Green Building Design Objectives

At the start of every design project, the basic goals, parameters, objectives, and programmatic requirements need to be articulated and understood. Part of that includes determining just how “green” or sustainable the project is intended to be. Sometimes, the owner or client sets specific sustainability goals or standards, while other times, the design team educates the owner on the available options. In all cases, it is critically important to have this discussion earlier rather than later since there are direct design and construction impacts based on the level of performance desired. There are, unfortunately, too many stories of projects that advanced through design and well into the construction phase before green building concepts were brought up, at which point significant redesign and reselection of material choices became needed, often at great expense to the design team.

Early collaboration is critical, but it must be grounded in a shared understanding of green building principles, which continue to evolve as new information and practices emerge. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has been a leader in this space, regularly updating its LEED Green Building Rating System. The latest version, LEED v5, focuses on three primary objectives:

1. Decarbonization: “by targeting reductions in operational, embodied, refrigerants, and transportation emissions.” This is a comprehensive approach to reducing or eliminating greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings throughout their entire life cycle, including raw material extraction, construction, operation, and end of life. Strategies for decarbonization include improving energy efficiency, switching to low-carbon and renewable energy sources, using building materials with low embodied carbon content, and electrifying buildings.
2. Quality of life: “by improving health, well-being, resilience, and equity for building occupants and their communities, making spaces not just environmentally friendly but also people friendly.” This is the human factor aspect of green design, which is at least equal in importance to emissions and energy use. Design and specification decisions that recognize the need for the health, safety, and welfare of the occupants and visitors are not only critical to green building, but also the basis for licensure as a design professional.
3. Ecological conservation and restoration: “by emphasizing strategies that limit environmental degradation and contribute to the restoration of ecosystems, ensuring that our built environment exists harmoniously with nature.” This point is focused on creating building designs that do little or no harm to the natural environment where the building is located. In fact, the intent is that the building works with and enhances the surrounding natural environment to help it thrive, as well as the people who use it.

Photo courtesy of Behr Paint Company

Every building project needs to begin with a clear agreement on the stated goals for green and sustainable design.

LEED and other green building systems use these objectives to guide building design and performance. Achieving these goals requires balancing design, construction, operation, and materials/product selection. Specifying materials that meet green standards can be a standalone project goal, supported by resources like:

• The AIA Materials Pledge: The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has developed the Architecture & Design Materials Pledge “to inspire a positive shift in materials specification.” Firms can review the parameters of the program, sign the pledge, and then “help improve the health of the planet and people by giving careful thought to how they evaluate products and finishes.”
• mindful MATERIALS: Originally started by HKS, a global design firm headquartered in Dallas, the not-for-profit mindful MATERIALS, Inc. has worked collaboratively with other green building organizations since 2014. Together, they have aligned around the “Common Materials Framework, which establishes for the first time a common language for holistic material sustainability in the building industry.” Similar to the AIA Materials Pledge, mindful MATERIALS also offers a Manufacturer Materials Commitment pledge for building product manufacturers to sign and be a party to.
• The 2030 Challenge for Embodied Carbon: According to Architecture 2030’s website, “This Challenge, originally the 2030 Challenge for Products, spawned the Carbon Leadership Community (previously the Embodied Carbon Network), which now has over 5,400 members from 2,650 companies and organizations worldwide, spanning the construction industry from both the private and public sectors. Architecture 2030 and the Carbon Leadership Community collaborated to create the Carbon Smart Materials Palette – an attribute-based approach to embodied carbon emissions reductions for major building elements that will guide building design and construction, and government procurement policies.”

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In addition to prescriptive programs, performance-based green goals, such as durability, can be established early in the design process. Durability reduces the need for material removal, repair, or replacement, making it one of the most sustainable and cost-effective strategies. Collaborating with the owner to understand how the building will be used ensures that durable materials and products are specified, supporting long-term sustainability.

By setting clear green building objectives from the outset, design teams can create projects that balance environmental responsibility, occupant well-being, and long-term performance.

Accessing Transparency in Environmental and Health Impacts

Once the green design goals are defined, the design team can shift its focus to selecting materials and products that align with those objectives. Achieving this requires access to reliable, transparent information from building product manufacturers. When evaluating potential materials and products, the most dependable sources of information are standardized documents like Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), and Health Product Declarations (HPDs). To illustrate, we can explore how these tools apply to architectural paints and coatings in the following sections:

Life Cycle Assessment

A life cycle assessment is a methodology for evaluating the full environmental impact of a product, service, or process from “cradle to grave,” encompassing raw material extraction, manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life disposal or recycling. Standards ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 provide the framework and requirements for conducting LCAs and ensure consistent and comparable results. 

All LCAs are developed according to Product Category Rules (PCRs), which are product-specific calculation requirements and methodologies that help ensure consistent data collection and analysis during LCA creation. For paints and coatings, Product Category Rules developed by the American Coatings Association and NSF are the basis for most manufacturers who use them, following the standard LCA framework. The architectural coatings PCR provides for LCA lifecycle reporting that includes four stages covering the entire scope of cradle to grave. Specific impact categories are also reported, which are environmental themes used to group and measure potential impacts of a product or process’s entire life cycle. In essence, that means they translate raw data into quantifiable indicators for impact categories, including Global Warming Potential (GWP), Stratospheric Ozone Layer Depletion Potential (ODP), Land and Water Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP), and others.

Environmental Product Declarations

An Environmental Product Declaration is a standardized, independently verified report that communicates a product’s environmental impact across its entire life cycle, based on a life cycle assessment.  The EPDs are developed using the ISO 14025 standard, which provides the framework for producing Type III EPDs that are independently verified by third parties. The EPD verifiers must not have been involved in preparing the EPD and must be accredited.  Most architectural coatings manufacturers in North America follow the same PCR and create Product-Specific Type III EPDs, which focus on a single manufacturer’s product. Accordingly, architects, designers, building owners, and others can assess different architectural coating EPDs to approximately compare impacts (within 10 to 20 percent) and select those products that match the project’s sustainability goals.

Product EPDs are also a source of carbon footprint data for coatings when producing whole-building LCAs. The GWP for “Stage 1 – Product Stage” reported in architectural coatings EPDs is aligned with the input for the whole building LCA “Product Stage (A1-A3), however, the Stage 1 GWP reported in the coatings EPDs must be adjusted to reflect the GWP associated with a single application of the product required for whole building LCAs rather than the multiple applications associated with the “Design Life” and “Market Life” reported in the architectural coatings EPD. For typical buildings, the contribution of coatings to the whole building carbon footprint is small when compared to structural, enclosure, and hardscape materials.

The HPDC logo is a trademark of the Health Product Declaration^® Collaborative.

Note that there are different types of EPDs, with those for paints and coatings using the so-called Type III environmental declaration that is created and registered in the framework of a program, such as UL Solutions. Such registered EPDs are publicly available and free to download through the UL Spot Product Database, accessible online. The EPD differs in many aspects from ISO Type I third-party (independent eco-labels) and Type II self-declared eco-labels. As such, the EPD’s relevance is steadily growing in voluntary and mandatory engagements. Sources for product EPDs include environmental program operators’ databases, sustainable documentation platforms, and manufacturers’ websites. Keep in mind that there are several impact categories to consider when comparing EPDs for projects. Although paints and coatings typically represent a small (less than a few) percent of total building carbon footprint, coatings may have proportionally larger impacts in other impact categories. 

Health Product Declarations

A Health Product Declaration is a standardized report that transparently discloses the chemical contents and associated potential health hazards for building products. The Health Product Declaration (HPD) Open Standard is created and managed by the non-profit Health Product Declaration^® Collaborative (HPDC) and is currently the most widely recognized and adopted standard for transparent reporting of building product contents associated with health hazard information. By using the HPD Open Standard, manufacturers have a means to provide clear, consistent, and reliable information about their products. Building design and construction professionals can use HPDs to make informed decisions about which products to specify in order to meet green building goals for health and welfare.

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Within the HPD Open Standard framework, there is a basis for screening the chemicals or other ingredients within materials or products. The standard allows manufacturers to choose the level of detail they provide regarding product contents. Ingredient speciation to 1,000 ppm (0.1%) is common, although some manufacturers choose to report at the 100 ppm (0.01%) level in order to provide more information to users. The GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals is a chemical hazard assessment method used within the HPD Open Standard to evaluate and benchmark the human health and environmental hazards of chemicals. It provides a systematic way for manufacturers to report on the potential hazards that can be associated with ingredients in their products, enabling designers and specifiers to make informed decisions about using less hazardous alternatives. Within this format, the ingredients are also screened against the HPD Priority Hazard List to identify ingredients that trigger specific hazard warnings.

Keep in mind that there is a difference between identifying a potentially hazardous ingredient and the risk associated with human exposure to that ingredient. A hazard is the potential of a substance to cause harm, whereas risk is associated with the harm actually occurring. Health Product Declarations do not provide exposure or risk assessments for product ingredients.

Assessing Product Certifications

While EPDs, HPDs, and LCAs are useful from a transparency standpoint, it can be much easier to discern between products if an independent third party has assessed and certified products against sustainability-related performance standards. Toward that end, there are several certification programs available to manufacturers to verify that their products meet selected criteria. Architects and designers can use these certifications as a quality control measure for ensuring that the products called for in their design and specifications meet the green, sustainable, and health standards of a project. Some of the more common certification programs are discussed in the following section.

UL GREENGUARD^® Certification for Building Materials

The UL GREENGUARD Certification is a program offered only by UL Solutions. It enables building materials manufacturers to showcase their commitment to improving Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) with products that meet criteria for low chemical emissions. Achieving UL GREENGUARD Certification helps differentiate products from competitors and makes it easier for architects, specifiers, and others to identify preferable products.

Photo courtesy of Behr Paint Company

The Master Painters Institute (MPI) is focused on the comprehensive quality of paint, including Green Performance Standards.

The UL GREENGUARD Certification program has established standards and emission limits for a variety of product groups, including building materials such as paints and coatings. Of particular interest are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde, but other compounds are reviewed and tested as well. The program also sets limits for exposure to specific chemicals connected to health-based exposure criteria. The certification program has established test methods and designated emission limits for a variety of building materials, including paint, flooring, and insulation materials.

Products can be certified using the UL GREENGUARD or UL GREENGUARD Gold criteria. The UL GREENGUARD Gold Certification Standard is a higher level of certification. It includes health-based criteria for additional chemicals and requires lower total VOC emissions levels to ensure that products meet requirements for use in environments such as schools and healthcare facilities. In addition to limiting emissions of more than 360 VOCs and total chemical emissions, UL GREENGUARD Gold Certified products must also comply with the requirements of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Standard Method for the Testing and Evaluation of Volatile Organic Chemical Emissions from Indoor Sources Using Environmental Chambers v1.2-2017, also known as California Section 01350. All certified products are subject to a review of the manufacturing process and routine testing to demonstrate minimal impact on the indoor environment over a long period.

MPI Green Performance™ Standards

The Master Painters Institute (MPI) asserts that they are “dedicated to advancing the painting and coatings application industry through quality standards and quality assurance. MPI serves architectural and industrial paint and coating manufacturers, specifiers, painters, and contractors. MPI is a vital resource for the coatings industry worldwide and the leading paint performance certification organization in North America.”

MPI’s Green Performance Standards were established in 2005 on the basis that the VOC level alone should not determine a ‘green’ coating. Therefore, MPI’s Green Performance Standard GPS-1 requires three things. First, the performance and durability of a ‘green’ paint or coating must be equal to a conventional counterpart through standard testing. Second, it must eliminate or contain only trace quantities of prohibited chemical components such as phthalates, benzene, vinyl chloride, and formaldehyde. Third, it must have reduced VOC levels compared to conventional products that are generally in line with LEED and South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) requirements.

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In 2007, MPI developed GPS-2, which was the most stringent standard in North America at the time, calling for a maximum allowable VOC of 50 grams per liter (g/L) for all eligible coatings. They have since further developed the “Extreme Green” (X-Green) certification to simplify the process of selecting environmentally friendly products specifically for interior spaces. In order to meet this level of green certification, the tested products must meet all of the criteria for GPS-1 and GPS-2, plus achieve third-party verification of compliance with Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) emissions requirements (CDPH 01350-based; UL GREENGUARD Gold acceptable) within the last two years. As such, X-Green paints and coatings are deemed to be suitable for green and healthy interiors.

There are also other multi-attribute certification programs with relevant information, such as Green Seal^® Certified, GreenCircle Certified, and Cradle to Cradle Certified^®.

Incorporating Coatings in Green Building Programs

Up to this point, we’ve explored setting green or sustainability goals for a project, evaluating materials, and assessing how products align with those objectives. All of this contributes to the broader understanding of a building’s overall sustainability. The most effective way to measure this is by integrating the information into a recognized green building program. Specifically, for paints and coatings, we’ll now examine how this data can support certifications like LEED, WELL, and other programs.

USGBC LEED Green Building Rating System

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program is probably the best known and most used green building rating system. Currently, LEED v4, LEED v4.1, and LEED v5 are available, although new registrations under LEED v4 and v4.1 will close as of March 31, 2026, with six years available to complete certification. Transparency through documents like EPDs, HPDs, and third-party certifications can significantly contribute to scoring across all three programs. 

Scoring in LEED v4 and v4.1 for paints and coatings within the Low Emitting Materials credit was based on two factors: meeting VOC content limits (g/L) and demonstrating low post-application VOC emissions. In LEED v5, the emphasis shifts. Credit is driven primarily by verified low emissions from installed products, and the Low Emitting Materials requirements now appear under the Materials and Resources category. While VOC content may still be needed for regulatory compliance, it is no longer the main lever for LEED credit. Project teams should prioritize emissions testing and certifications to document real-world low off-gassing.

Scoring associated with EPDs, HPDs, and third-party sustainability certifications is found in the Materials and Resources section of all three programs, although the formulas for calculating scores are different for LEED v4 and LEED v5. Details for all the LEED programs can be found at the U.S. Green Building Council’s website.

IWBI logo is a trademark of the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI).

In all versions of LEED, VOCs remain an integral part of the rating system. Two aspects are looked at, VOC emissions and VOC content, in building materials.

• VOC Emissions Evaluation. The first option for emissions credit is for the product to be tested according to the CDPH Standard Method v1.2–2017, showing that it complies with the VOC limits in Table 4-1 of the method. Additionally, the evaluation must show the range of total VOCs after 14 days (336 hours) to be measured as specified in the CDPH Standard Method v1.2-2017 and reported. The second option for emissions is to have the product tested according to the European Standard, EN 16516:2017, and comply with the LCI values from Table 1 of the German AgBB Testing and Evaluation Scheme (2015). The results must show a formaldehyde limit of 10 micrograms per cubic meter and the range of total VOCs after 28 days to be measured as specified in EN 16516 and reported. Laboratories that conduct these tests must be accredited under ISO/IEC 17025 for the test methods they use. Under either option, the statement of product compliance must include the exposure scenario(s) used, the amount of wet-applied product applied in mass per surface area (if applicable), the range of total VOCs, and follow the relevant guidelines. Organizations that certify manufacturers’ claims must be accredited under ISO Guide 17065.
• VOC Content Evaluation. In addition to emissions, the VOC content of coatings must be certified for LEED v4 and LEED v4.1. For projects in North America, methylene chloride and perchloroethylene are indicated to be not intentionally added. Then, a third-party statement must include the results of testing, which must follow the test method specified in the applicable regulation. Note that if subtraction of exempt compounds is called for, then it must be disclosed if there is any content of intentionally added exempt compounds larger than 1 percent weight by mass (total exempt compounds). Specifically for paints and coatings, the LEED identified standards include the California Air Resources Board (CARB) 2007 Suggested Control Measure (SCM) for Architectural Coatings or South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 1113, amended February 5, 2016, effective date most current at the time of the project’s LEED registration date.

In all, LEED continues to keep a focus on VOCs as a significant part of defining good indoor environmental quality.

WELL Building Standards

The International WELL Building Institute^TM has developed the WELL Building Standard^TM version 2 (WELL v2^TM). They describe this standard as “a vehicle for buildings and organizations to deliver more thoughtful and intentional spaces that enhance human health and well-being. WELL v2 includes a set of strategies, backed by the latest scientific research, that aim to advance human health through design interventions and operational protocols and policies and foster a culture of health and well-being.” The standard is recognized by LEED but focuses on the health and well-being of occupants in more categories and in greater detail.

The Declare logo is a registered trademark of the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). The Red List Free badge is a certified trademark of the International Living Future Institute (ILFI).

Among the ten different concepts in WELL v2, the Air concept “aims to achieve high levels of indoor air quality across a building’s lifetime through diverse strategies that include source elimination or reduction, active and passive building design and operation strategies, and human behavior interventions.” Specifically, Section A05, which focuses on enhanced air quality optimization, includes Part 2 - Meet Enhanced Thresholds for Organic Gases (i.e., VOCs). The requirements here apply to all spaces and must be verified by performance testing. The requirements are focused on specific VOCs with specific thresholds for emissions to be met in occupiable spaces. Note that not all of these are applicable to paints and coatings, but are found in other materials, including furniture. The goal is for the interior spaces to be within these limits, regardless of the source.

The Materials concept in WELL v2 focuses on the reduction of exposure to chemicals that may impact health during the construction, remodeling, finishing, and operation of buildings. Features in this concept area encourage minimization of the impact of VOC compounds emitted by products on indoor air quality, promotion of material composition transparency, and selection of products with enhanced ingredient disclosure. Paints and coatings can be part of the review of these compliance criteria using many of the third-party testing standards and methods already described. 

Living Building Challenge

The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) has developed the Living Building Challenge ^SM (LBC) standard as a core document that project teams can use to guide them on a path toward certification of regenerative buildings that connect occupants to light, air, food, nature, and community. The Living Building Challenge version 4.1 (released in April of 2024) goes beyond “doing no harm” to being truly regenerative and contributing to a positive built environment in multiple respects. It includes the Healthy Indoor Environment Plan (HIEP) imperative, which includes multiple indoor air quality improvement strategies such as toxin prevention policies and materials imperatives requiring materials ingredient transparency and “responsible” choice of building materials.

Photo courtesy of Behr Paint Company

Certified green paints contribute to a wide variety of buildings and interiors.

As one strategy toward healthier indoor environments, ILFI has also developed the “Declare Label” program, described as “a platform to share and find healthy building products.”  Part of the program is to compare the contents of products against the LBC Red List, which is “a list of chemicals representing the ‘worst in class’ substances prevalent in the building industry that pose serious risks to human health and the environment. A product’s compliance with the LBC Red List is represented on the Declare Label by one of three Declaration Statuses for products. 1) LBC Red List Free products disclose 100 percent of ingredients present at or above 100 ppm (0.01%) in the final product and do not contain any Red List chemicals. 2) LBC Red List Approved products disclose a minimum of 99 percent of ingredients present in the final product and meet the LBC Red List Imperative requirements through one or more approved exceptions. 3) Declared products disclose 100 percent of ingredients present in the final product but contain one or more Red List chemicals that are not covered by an approved exception.

Certified paints can also assist in meeting requirements across other programs, including the following:

• The International Green Construction Code^® (IgCC^®), which provides a building code that can be adopted by localities to achieve a whole systems approach to the design, construction, and operation of buildings. The IgCC contains measures that result in better indoor environments and lower impact on natural resources, among other things. It includes ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES 189.1-2023 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.
• Fitwel^®, which is a building certification that supports healthier workplace environments to help improve occupant health and productivity. Fitwel is based on seven health impact categories for interior environments and the community.
• Green Globes^®, which is a building rating system developed by the Green Building Initiative^® (GBI) that evaluates a building’s environmental performance across categories like energy, water, and materials. It offers modules for new construction, interiors, and existing buildings and is used by various clients, including government agencies and private corporations, to certify a wide range of building types for their sustainability.
• The National Association of Home Builders’^® National Green Building Standard^® (NGBS) is a point-based standard for green building, administered by Home Innovation Research Labs and approved by the American National Standards Institute^® (ANSI^®), that provides national certification for green homes and communities. The standard covers high-performance practices in six areas: lot design and development, resource efficiency, water efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and building operation & maintenance. Certification levels include Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald (highest), ensuring a multifaceted approach to sustainability for residential buildings.

Ecomedes logo is a registered trademark of Ecomedes, Inc. SM Transparency Catalog program is a registered trademark of Sustainable Minds, LLC.

Vetting and Selecting Coating Products

When selecting coating products, architects and designers must navigate a wealth of information to identify options that align with a project’s green building and health objectives. Keeping these goals at the forefront ensures that performance standards are not compromised during the decision-making process. 

For categories like paints and coatings, begin by reviewing product data sheets to check for EPDs or HPDs. If available, keep these documents on file and examine them for ingredient details or other relevant information. Prioritize products with third-party certifications, as these serve as a reliable quality control measure, helping to eliminate options that fail to meet certification standards.

In some cases, product information may apply to a broader product line rather than individual items. It’s essential to consult manufacturer representatives to confirm which product lines meet the required criteria. Additionally, verify the availability of sustainable products in the project’s geographic location, as not all products are distributed nationwide. If certified applicators are required for installation, ensure they are accessible in the project area.

Reliable, verified information is key to making informed product selections. Be cautious of “greenwashing,” where products are marketed with misleading sustainability claims. Always validate compliance through third-party certifications and documentation.

Accessing trusted databases can streamline the vetting process and provide valuable insights. Consider these resources:

• HPD Collaborative Repository: A comprehensive library of published HPDs, along with tools to simplify product selection.
• Ecomedes: An online platform with over 1 million products, including flooring, furniture, and coatings. It supports certifications like LEED, WELL, and Living Building Challenge, with downloadable ecolabels for EPDs, HPDs, and more.
• Sustainable Minds: A database featuring EPDs, HPDs, and Declare Labels for North American products, with MasterFormat^® filtering for easier searches.

Writing Coating Specifications for Sustainability

The most effective way to minimize harmful substances in buildings, such as VOCs and carcinogens, is to specify materials and products that either exclude them entirely or contain them in minimal amounts. Once the vetting and selection process is complete, it’s important to remember that the foundation of any specification is specificity. Specifications should be tailored to the unique requirements of each project, including those for paints and coatings.

Regardless of the sustainability goals or green building standards being pursued, Division 09 specifications should follow best practices for interior and exterior finish work. Well-prepared paint and coating specifications serve as a guide for contractors, facility owners, and managers, ensuring that the project meets its performance, appearance, and sustainability goals. Clear and concise specifications are essential for achieving durable, high-quality results. Key details to include are:

• Surface preparation requirements
• Specific materials to be used
• Desired appearance
• Inspection checkpoints

Photo courtesy of Behr Paint Company

Properly specifying interior and exterior paints and coatings can help with a building’s appearance, durability, and sustainability.

When specifying coatings for new construction, several critical factors should be addressed:

• Sustainability Requirements: Clearly state the sustainability criteria for all paints and coatings upfront, including references to certifications or quality control standards.
• Substrate Preparation: Identify the type of substrate for each application and specify preparation requirements, such as cleanliness, surface texture, and uniformity. Note unsuitable substrates and environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity) that could impact the application.
• Interior vs. Exterior Applications: Clearly differentiate between products specified for interior and exterior use, including details on finishes (opaque, clear, or stain), gloss levels, and durability requirements. Use painting or finish schedules to eliminate confusion about product placement.
• Environmental Conditions: Specify restrictions on temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors to ensure proper application and performance. For renovation or repainting projects, the same principles apply, but additional measures are necessary:
• Assess Existing Substrates: Evaluate the condition of existing substrates for integrity and repair or replace any weak areas. MPI Degree of Surface Degradation (DSD) system can help assess surface conditions.
• Evaluate Existing Coatings: Inspect existing paint or coatings for uniformity and adhesion. Address any flaking, chipping, or damage before applying new materials. Ensure compatibility between the new coating and the existing one and specify primers that align with green building goals if needed.

For both new construction and renovation projects, detailed specifications for surface preparation and coating application are critical to achieving durability and sustainability. Properly written specifications ensure that all stakeholders, from contractors to facility managers, are aligned, resulting in a successful and environmentally responsible outcome.

By focusing on clarity, precision, and sustainability, coating specifications can significantly enhance a building’s appearance, performance, and environmental impact.

Conclusion

This course has provided a comprehensive overview of how architectural coatings can play a critical role in achieving green building goals. By understanding and applying sustainability transparency tools like EPDs, HPDs, and LCAs, design professionals can make informed decisions that align with environmental and health objectives. Additionally, leveraging third-party certifications and integrating these insights into project specifications ensures that coatings contribute to both the performance and sustainability of a building.

From setting clear green building objectives to vetting and selecting products, and finally writing precise specifications, each step in the process is essential for creating buildings that are not only environmentally responsible but also safe and healthy for occupants. Programs like LEED, WELL, and the Living Building Challenge provide frameworks to measure and certify these efforts, while resources such as the AIA Materials Pledge, mindful MATERIALS, and the 2030 Challenge offer valuable guidance for material selection.

Ultimately, the thoughtful integration of sustainable coatings into design and construction practices supports long-term durability, reduces environmental impact, and enhances indoor air quality. By prioritizing transparency, collaboration, and precision, design teams can deliver projects that meet the highest standards of sustainability and contribute to a healthier built environment.