Collaborative to Establish Health Product Declarations Protocol
The Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPDC) partnered with seven product sustainability assessment companies to develop a third-party verification protocol for Health Product Declarations (HPDs).
Along with GreenCE, GreenCircle, NSF International, PE International, SCS Global Services, ToxServices LLC and UL Environment, the HPDC is working to provide building product manufacturers with a framework to list product materials and ingredients as well as associated health information.
"Establishing common criteria for third-party verification and quality assurance consulting is critical to advance the collective knowledge of the building industry, particularly as questions move up the supply chain," said Eden Brukman, technical director of the HPD Collaborative, in a statement. "For these services to be successful, consistency is key."
A pilot program, which includes Alpar Architectural Products, Assa Abloy Door Security Solutions, Bradley Corporation, Casentino Group, Forbo Flooring Systems, GAF, Interface, Mohawk Group, Nydree Flooring, Prosoco and Teknion, is currently being tested and is scheduled for completion in February. The findings from the pilot program will be used in the development of the official protocol, scheduled for release in the spring.
"The HPD is a much-needed step forward for the construction industry," said Tara Blank, founder of Elixir Environmental, in a statement. "Design professionals now have the ability to make intelligent specification choices based on full disclosure of material content and potential hazards. Building product manufacturers that embrace HPD early on will benefit greatly in the years to come."
With the launch of LEED v4, the Materials and Resources credit in the new version of the green building certification encourages the full transparency of building products and their environmental performance. Architectural firms such as Perkins+Will, Smith Group, JJR, HKS and ZGF are also encouraging product manufacturers to provide HPDs to be considered for product specifications.
"The HPD will become a major influencer for specifications," said Glen Phillips, Director of Sustainable Education at GreenCE, in a statement. "Product manufacturers who are able to stay ahead of this industry transition will have the chance to build brand awareness among top designers across the country, and see their products effectively 'shortlisted' as specification writers increasingly favor products that have an HPD."
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