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The Green Revolution - What Does it Mean to the Building Products Industry?
Learn how to third-party validate "green" claims. Download.
Resources
Green Program Description (140 kb PDF)
Green Attributes (37 kb PDF)
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ENERGY STAR® Requirements are Changing
We can test products to all ENERGY STAR® requirements.
With the growing popularity of “green claims” within the building and construction industry, manufacturers today face many challenges when making these claims about their products. Environmental products are coming under scrutiny by regulators and becoming a growing source of distrust by consumers. Coined as "Greenwashing" or "Green Sheening" - the disingenuous marketing of environmentally friendly product attributes - advocacy groups and consumers are looking for the hard proof behind environmental claims.
Our Environmental Certification Program aims to eliminate the confusion in the eco-labeling marketplace. The Program evaluates the environmental impacts of building products and materials, providing manufacturer’s confidence in promoting their environmental claims, knowing they have been certified by a leader, with more than 100 years experience providing testing, quality and safety for products worldwide. The Program will bring clarity to the “Green Revolution” for building products manufacturers and create an eco-label that is meaningful, trustworthy and valuable to not only manufacturers of building materials, but also to purchasers and specifiers of these products, materials and assemblies.
Don't Promise. Prove it. Third-Party validate your product green claims today.
Environmental Certification Program Components
The program is focused on single or multiple attribute certifications, and consists of five key components:
1. Writing the Test Plan - During the generation of the test plan for the product, careful consideration will be given to what claims can meaningfully be made for it. Inappropriate claims (this fire door hinge contains no asbestos, for instance) will not be allowed. Once correct credentials are identified, nationally or internationally recognized test standards will be utilized to validate these claims.
2. Initial Plant Inspection - The manufacturing facility will then be audited by trained Intertek personnel to witness the production of the test items and to gather the information necessary for the preparation of a Quality Control Manual.
3. Creation of the Quality Control Manual - The Quality Control Manual will adequately describe the methods and procedures utilized in the product’s manufacture.
4. Performance of VerificationTests - Intertek will perform tests based on the sustainable attributes a manufacturer selects such as recycled content, solar reflectance, emissions, and energy efficiency, and will then third-party validate the claims about the products. Following a successful test evaluation, Intertek will issue the manufacturer its proprietary Green Leaf Mark to use on product packaging and marketing materials to help sell their products. The green leaf mark will clearly indicate the environmental credentials that have been recognized for this product, to eliminate confusion.
5. Quarterly Plant Audits and Retest - After products are issued Intertek’s Green Leaf Mark, a routine program of unannounced, quarterly plant inspections will begin to ensure the product is continuing to be manufactured to a quality commensurate with this program.
Intertek is trying to stabilize the industry, not add to the confusion. We have a close relationship with the International Code Council - Evaluation Services (ICC-ES) group that offers a similar program called Sustainable Attributes Verification and Evaluation (SAVE). Consequently, the first nine attributes of our new program are identical to those of the SAVE program.
Attributes
| Determination of Recycled Content of Materials | Determination of Durability of Paints and Coatings |
| Determination of Biobased Material Content | Energy efficiency: efficiency of solid-fuel heating appliances, thermal resistance value, etc. |
| Determination of Solar Reflectance, Thermal Emittance and Solar Reflective Index of Roof Covering Materials | Water efficiency: water use by plumbing fixtures |
| Determination of Regionally Extracted, Harvested or Manufactured Materials or Products | No toxic substances |
| Determination of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Content and Emissions of Adhesives and Sealants | Mold resistance |
| Determination of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Content and Emissions of Paints and Coatings | Heavy metals content in non-metal materials |
| Determination of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Content and Emissions of Floor Covering Products | Asbestos free |
| Determination of Formaldehyde Emissions of Composite Wood and Engineered Wood Products | No inorganic halides or other chemicals controlled by the Montreal Protocol |
| Determination of Certified Wood and Certified Wood Content in Products | No radioactivity |
This list will grow, as appropriate additional attributes are identified and recognized test methods are found to verify them.
Contact us to see how Intertek can help your organization with Building Products Environmental Certification Program.
