Why Building Product Disclosure Matters
For decades, building professionals selected products based on performance specifications, aesthetics, and cost with limited information about what those products contained or their environmental impacts. This information asymmetry meant potentially harmful chemicals could enter buildings without owners or occupants ever knowing.
Product disclosure changes this dynamic by requiring manufacturers to reveal product contents and impacts. This transparency creates multiple benefits:
Informed Decision-Making
When architects and specifiers understand what's in products, they can make choices aligned with project goals. A hospital prioritizing patient health can select products free from certain chemicals. A school district concerned about children's exposure can avoid specific substances. A corporate client pursuing LEED certification can select products that contribute to credit goals.
Market Transformation
Transparency creates competitive pressure. When one flooring manufacturer publishes an EPD showing lower carbon emissions than competitors, others respond by improving their products or producing their own EPDs. This competition drives industry-wide improvement that benefits all buildings, not just those pursuing certification.
Risk Management
Documented disclosure provides legal protection. When products are fully disclosed and selected based on that disclosure, liability exposure decreases. Building owners can demonstrate due diligence in material selection.
Occupant Trust
Organizations can share product disclosure documentation with building occupants, demonstrating commitment to healthy indoor environments. This transparency supports employee wellness initiatives and stakeholder relations.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
Environmental Product Declarations quantify a product's environmental impact across its entire lifecycle using standardized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Think of an EPD as a nutrition label for building products—it provides objective, comparable information about environmental performance.
What EPDs Contain
A typical EPD reports impacts across multiple categories:
- Global Warming Potential: Carbon dioxide equivalent emissions contributing to climate change
- Ozone Depletion Potential: Contributions to stratospheric ozone layer destruction
- Acidification Potential: Emissions contributing to acid rain and ecosystem damage
- Eutrophication Potential: Nutrient pollution affecting water bodies
- Smog Formation Potential: Ground-level ozone precursor emissions
- Resource Depletion: Consumption of non-renewable resources
EPD Types
- Product-specific EPDs: Based on data from a specific manufacturer's product
- Industry-wide EPDs: Average data representing typical products in a category
EPD Program Operators
Major EPD programs for building products include UL Environment, NSF International, SCS Global Services, and ICC-ES. While different programs may use slightly different formats, all follow ISO 14025 standards ensuring comparability.
For LEED certification, products with EPDs contribute to Building Product Disclosure and Optimization credits. Using 20 products with EPDs from at least five manufacturers earns points.
Health Product Declarations (HPDs)
While EPDs address environmental impacts, Health Product Declarations focus on human health by disclosing product ingredients and their associated health hazards. HPDs answer the fundamental question: "What's in this product, and should I be concerned about any of it?"
HPD Structure
HPDs report ingredients at multiple levels:
- Basic Method: Discloses ingredients to 1000 ppm (0.1%)
- Nested Method: Discloses material-level and substance-level contents
- GreenScreen assessment: Optional hazard screening using the GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals protocol
Hazard Screening
HPDs cross-reference ingredients against priority hazard lists including:
- IARC: International Agency for Research on Cancer carcinogen classifications
- California Proposition 65: Known carcinogens and reproductive toxicants
- GHS Classifications: Globally Harmonized System hazard categories
- REACH SVHC: European Substances of Very High Concern
Understanding HPD Results
Presence of a hazardous ingredient doesn't necessarily mean a product is dangerous—exposure matters. An ingredient chemically bound in a finished product may pose no risk during normal use. However, HPDs enable comparison between products and identification of those avoiding hazardous substances entirely.
For LEED, 20 products with HPDs from at least five manufacturers contributes to Material Ingredient credits. Products demonstrating ingredient optimization through third-party assessment earn additional points.
Declare Labels and Other Programs
Beyond EPDs and HPDs, additional disclosure programs address specific sustainability concerns and certification requirements.
Declare Labels
The International Living Future Institute's Declare program provides ingredient transparency with a focus on the Living Building Challenge Red List. Declare labels list all ingredients at 100 ppm and identify:
- Red List Free: Products containing no Red List chemicals
- Red List Approved: Products with Red List substances that have received temporary exceptions
- Declared: Products with full ingredient disclosure regardless of Red List status
Cradle to Cradle Certification
C2C certification evaluates products across five categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy, water stewardship, and social fairness. Products earn Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification based on performance across all categories.
GREENGUARD Certification
UL's GREENGUARD certification verifies products meet strict chemical emission limits for indoor air quality. GREENGUARD Gold certification meets additional criteria for sensitive populations including schools and healthcare facilities.
FloorScore
Specifically for flooring products, FloorScore certification verifies compliance with California Section 01350 VOC emission requirements. Most major flooring manufacturers offer FloorScore-certified products.
Learn more about low-emitting material requirements and how these certifications support healthy indoor environments.
Product Disclosure for Flooring
Flooring represents one of the largest surfaces in any building, making product disclosure particularly important for this category. Understanding what disclosure programs reveal about flooring helps specifiers make informed choices.
Common Flooring Concerns Addressed by Disclosure
- VOC emissions: Volatile organic compounds that affect indoor air quality
- Phthalates: Plasticizers used in some vinyl flooring
- Formaldehyde: Common in adhesives and some composite materials
- Heavy metals: Sometimes present in pigments and stabilizers
- Carbon footprint: Manufacturing energy and material sourcing impacts
Flooring EPD Availability
Major flooring categories with widespread EPD availability include:
- Carpet: Most major manufacturers publish product-specific or corporate-wide EPDs
- Luxury vinyl: Industry EPDs and product-specific EPDs increasingly available
- Hardwood: Multiple manufacturers offer product-specific EPDs
- Ceramic tile: Industry-wide and product-specific EPDs available
- Laminate: Growing EPD availability from major manufacturers
Finding Disclosed Products
Resources for identifying flooring with disclosure documentation:
- Manufacturer websites: Sustainability sections typically link to EPDs and HPDs
- Mindful Materials: Database of building products with transparency documentation
- HPD Repository: Searchable database of published HPDs
- EPD databases: Program operator websites maintain EPD registries
Browse our eco-friendly flooring options with sustainability documentation.
Using Disclosure in Project Decisions
Having disclosure documentation is valuable only if project teams know how to use it effectively. Here's how to incorporate product disclosure into material selection decisions.
Setting Project Requirements
Before product research, establish disclosure requirements aligned with project goals:
- LEED projects: Define which Material Ingredient and Building Product Disclosure credits you're pursuing
- Health-focused projects: Identify specific chemicals of concern to avoid
- Carbon reduction: Set embodied carbon targets using EPD data
Comparing Products
When comparing similar products using disclosure data:
- EPD comparison: Compare products within the same Product Category Rule (PCR) for valid comparison
- HPD comparison: Look for products avoiding chemicals of concern
- Certification comparison: Higher certification levels indicate better performance
Documentation for Certification
For LEED and other certifications, organize disclosure documentation:
- Track products: Maintain a spreadsheet of products with their disclosure status
- Collect documents: Download PDFs of EPDs, HPDs, and certifications during specification
- Verify installation: Confirm actual installed products match specified products
Communicating Choices
Disclosure documentation supports stakeholder communication:
- Clients: Demonstrate sustainability commitments with verifiable data
- Occupants: Provide transparency about building materials
- Certification bodies: Submit required documentation for credit approval
For projects in the Gulf Coast region, our Pensacola flooring team can help identify products with appropriate disclosure documentation for your sustainability goals.