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REGULATORY UPDATE

Adhesive users face formidable challenges to profitability. Environment, safety and liability are just a few. REGULATORY UPDATE offers a look at the regulatory issues affecting your business.

Environmentally-Friendly Evolves to Green and Beyond A recent article in Window & Door magazine officially proclaimed that “green” building has entered the mainstream. Industry by industry such pronouncements are being made, and while the extent and speed of environmental consciousness differs by industry, it is clear that what constitutes a green product and how green can be leveraged in construction are becoming more evident every day. Eco-this, eco-that publications like Environmental Building News, eco-structure and Environmental Design + Construction, and environmentally-focused trade shows from Minneapolis to Moscow are proliferating rapidly (Environdesign, greenbuild, Eco-Build America and NAHB’s Green Building Conference). Also growing is the number of products being marketed as “green”, “recycled”, “safe” or “sustainable”. These descriptions all have a place in a green world, each contributing some way to better environmental health. And the products they describe are seeing greater opportunity in quickly emerging markets. Helping define “green” is U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). An increasing number of developers—both public and private—are subscribing their projects to LEED. Getting LEED certification of a project qualifies builders and buildings (through the use of approved products, materials and processes) for an array of state and local government incentives, in addition to being recognized as leaders in the growing green building sector. LEED provides a complete framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. LEED emphasizes state of the art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. LEED recognizes achievements and promotes expertise in green building through a comprehensive system offering project certification, professional accreditation, training and practical resources. Just last November, LEED introduced a rating system to specifically address indoor air quality (IAQ), called LEED-CI (Commercial Interiors). Like other LEED rating systems, LEED-CI certification requirements are developed from EPA standards. And while some of EPA’s testing methods are not entirely foolproof (i.e., measuring indoor product emissions with outdoor tools), LEED can nevertheless be credited with leading the building industry’s environmental transformation. While LEED is a process of certifying green building projects, the materials that make up such projects are in need of their own 3rd party evaluation and documentation of content and emissions analysis. Very quickly, the next generation of environmental building standards has begun to take form. Independent laboratories have taken the lead with product testing requirements more stringent than those of the EPA or South Coast Air Quality Management District in California (SCAQMD). In its ninth year of testing, the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) is one such independent lab. GEI governs GREENGUARD’s Certification Program and provides the world’s only guide to third-party certified low-emitting interior products and building materials. GREENGUARD Certification is a valuable tool for architects, designers and product specifiers who want to locate, specify and purchase off-the-shelf, low-emitting products for indoor environments. What sets GREENGUARD apart is its focus on testing how product chemical emissions affect indoor air quality. For more information on GREENGUARD, go to www.greenguard.org For more information on USGBC’s LEED Certification, go to www.usgbc.org