(Mis)Understanding Green Products

A dizzying array of green-product certification protocols are overwhelming the building industry-even staunch advocates see a tough road ahead for architects
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From Architectural Record
Russell Fortmeyer

If it's so difficult to coordinate the thousands of players in the building industry, why doesn't someone with practically unlimited resources and authority step in to streamline the process-someone like the federal government? It certainly isn't missing from the picture, since the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) both play large roles in shaping the national agenda toward sustainable design, but bureaucracies and a scattershot approach of uncoordinated programs also hamper them. It may come as little surprise to know there is no productive "sustainability czar" in this White House, but that may be what it would take. There are bright spots. By far, the biggest success of the DOE and EPA is Energy Star, a joint program dating to 1992 that is most widely known for consumer electronics. This is a voluntary program that is single-attribute-it basically guarantees a product meets energy-efficiency criteria-and it is based on existing standards, rather than being a standard itself. For example, the Energy Star requirements for a geothermal heat pump are based on standards prepared by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This approach-creating a product label based on other standards-is common and partly explains the rash of new green product labels. However, architects interested in sustainability often find the single-attribute label certification to be of limited use. Having an energy efficient geothermal heat pump makes sense, but not if that pump is constructed of materials that harm the environment. A multi-attribute certification could address this.

The hand that rocks the cradle

In 2007, the most recognizable of the multi-attribute certifications is McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry's Cradle to Cradle program, which achieved notoriety with the 2002 book, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, written by William McDonough, FAIA, and Michael Braungart. The idea of making a product that would be endlessly used or reused has been so compelling in the sustainable design industry that "cradle to cradle" has become shorthand for the goals many people and organizations are working toward. It's the Kleenex of sustainable design. McDonough Braungart, or MBDC, developed the program as a proprietary standard, so a manufacturer is forced to submit materials to MBDC for evaluation and certification. Cradle to Cradle focuses on the life-cycle of a product, looking at where it is produced, the materials' sources, and how it is used after it's no longer needed-all in addition to the product's construction and performance. Although the Cradle to Cradle program, which was officially launched in 2005, is not an accredited standard, it is partly based on accredited or consensus standards similar to the way the Energy Star program is structured. While Cradle to Cradle is one of the few certification labels that qualifies for a LEED Innovation point and also satisfies the EPA's Environmentally Preferable Products requirements for government purchasing, few manufacturers have invested in certification.

Shaw Contract Group's Ecoworx carpet tile is a Cradle to Cradle product. (1) Old carpet is returned to Shaw's plant, where it is ground up (2) before having the backing and fibers separated. (3) The backing is then melted and turned into fine pellets. (4) At this point, the backing is re-formed into new back material before it is extruded and cut (5). Shaw documents every carpet installation, so it can pursue recycling the material after use. (6) The recycled backing is then combined with the recycled nylon to form new carpet tiles. In August 2007, Shaw introduced a broadloom version of the carpet, but it will take at least seven or more years to reach the point of full recyclability.
Photography: Courtesy Shaw Contract Group

While many in the design industry see Cradle to Cradle as an important development, many regret the proprietary nature of the program-as well as the conflict of interest posed by a manufacturer hiring MBDC as a sustainable product consultant and then paying them to certify its products-and think these issues will limit its effectiveness. But no one denies that the program, which could apply to anything from a toothbrush to a 747, is one of the most comprehensive on the market.

Paul Murray, director of environmental health and safety at Michigan-based Herman Miller, has seen a lot of changes in the industry since he started working on environmental issues full-time for the company in 1992. Herman Miller-a manufacturer long committed to environmental concerns-was the first company to certify a furniture product, the Mirra chair, as Cradle to Cradle. "To some degree, it hasn't always been a huge degree of cost," Murray says. "Reengineering products to meet Cradle to Cradle has produced some less-expensive features that have been patentable. So, we try to integrate it as early as possible in the design process." Part of what the program does is divide materials into good, okay, and bad categories, assigning them colors. Green stands for good, red for bad. Put a red chemical in your plastic, you might fail to get certified. Herman Miller has now embarked on a process of ridding their supply chains of red materials.

 

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Originally published in Architectural Record.
Originally published in November 2007

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