What makes a product green? This can be a very challenging question to answer. The wave of demand for green products has arrived, and many companies wanting to cash in are making questionable claims of eco-friendliness. This is called greenwashing, and it makes product selection a lot more difficult, especially for the average home-owner and renter.

Suspect a company for greenwashing? Post about it it in the greenwash watch forum!

Raisingspaces.com offers a range of information, tools, and resources to help you with your research. Fortunately there are also independent or third party product certification bodies to save you time and validate the sustainability claims of a given product.

The Regreen Green Product Checklist can also be a great starting place to guide your product selection process.

Third Party Certification – Mandatory and Voluntary Product Labelling

What mandatory and voluntary bodies exist to certify a building material or product’s degree of greenness?

If you see a logo or stamp certifying a product, what exactly are they certifying?

When a company claims that their product is ‘green’ or ‘eco-friendly’, what does that mean?

What is the difference between a mandatory and voluntary certification body?

Many ‘green’ certification bodies exist in Canada, North America and Internationally. Such bodies conduct independent reviews of a product by certifying something above and beyond regulatory requirements. These companies are referred to as third party certifiers and are generally voluntary non-profit institutes that ensure higher standards are being met in the industry.

These standards may speak to sustainability in the product development process, management practices and the corporate ethical responsibility of their impact on health and the environment. Third party certifiers have very specific mandates to certify aspects of a product or company, from a product’s level of toxicity, to a company’s management practices, to identifying the life cycle impact of a product on the environment.

In order to make an educated purchase that best suits your needs, it’s important to know what a logo is certifying for a particular product. It’s also valuable to distinguish which certifications are mandatory and which are voluntary in order to recognize companies that are taking steps to improve their standards above the industry norm.

As a general rule of thumb, all products require some form of regulatory performance testing and certification before reaching the commercial market. However, voluntary market mechanisms are becoming more popular as consumers gain social awareness of their product origins and contents and demand higher standards.

Click the ‘Certification Bodies’ tab for a list of regulatory and voluntary certification bodies. Currently no review body is solely dedicated to the certification of building products and materials, however as Green Alberta grows over the next five years, its mandate is to become a national certification body of green building products and materials by conducting a life cycle assessment and evaluating the social, environmental and economic impact of a product.

Mandatory Regulatory Certification Bodies

• In Canada, building products need to be certified either by CCMC or CSA.
• CCMC – Canadian Construction Materials Centre
• CSA – Canadian Standards Association

Independent Certification Bodies

• ASTM International
• This is a voluntary international based company
• ISO 14000 – Environmental Management Standards
• FSC – Forest Stewardship Council
• Green Seal – USA based company using rigorous testing to certify a product’s greenness, based on a life cycle analysis of the impact from raw materials extraction to manufacturing to waste and disposal at the end of life.
• SCS – Scientific Certification Systems
• Cradle to Cradle
• EcoLogo Environmental Choice
• Green Guard Environmental Insitute
• Terra Choice
• Energy Star
• Energuide – Referenced standard being developed by Enervision and SAIT to review a home system’s energy consumption.

Other International Green Third Party Certifications

• MPI (Master Painter’s Institute)
• Blue Angel – Germany based company that offers industry, trade and crafts companies the opportunity to document their environmental competence.
• Global EcoLabelling Network
• JSA – Quality System Centre
• Rainforest Alliance – USA based organization, partnered with FSC to certify sustainable forestry management practices.

Independent Verification Bodies

• Green Alberta

Reclaimed Material Sources

Used building material stores, online auctions and bulletin boards, and charity groups are fantastic solutions for both finding materials for your new home or renovation as well as for reducing the amount of construction waste going to the landfill.

Make use of their services to seek or offer materials, and remember to include local used building material stores as well as thrift and antique shops in your search. Get creative!

• Habitat for Humanity ReStore Locations
• Envirobuild – Specializes in devolumizing high volumes of building contents and construction materials for significant building-construction activities.
• Planetreuse.com – the world’s first free digital warehouse specifically for building construction materials.
• Full Circles – A network of materials exchange groups in Canada where members post wanted and offered items for free.
• Freesharing.org – International directory of free-sharing groups
• ReUseIt Network – The ReUseIt Network is an international on-line forum that serves as a tool to make connections between community members who want to help each other, themselves, and their environment.
• Usedcanada.com – Classified ads across the country to buy, sell, donate and find items.
• Craig’s List – Worldwide listings of opportunities and items for free or sale.
• Kijiji – A site listing opportunities and items for free or sale.
• Bargain Finder – Online ads for products and services for sale, free, or trade.
• Ebay