New Industry Standards for Stone, Ceramic, Clay and Glass Building Materials
and Windows Add to Program Milestones
NORTHBROOK, Ill., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- UL Environment (ULE) announces at
Greenbuild 2009 that it intends to develop standards for sustainability in new
industry categories: stone, ceramic, clay and glass building materials and
glazing materials, windows and associated hardware and accessories. The
standards establish environmental requirements for these building products and
the environmental criteria are based on the life cycle impacts and health
effects of the associated products.
ULE's new sustainability standards will draw on input from UL Environment
Standard Technical Panels (STPs) comprised of stakeholders such as
manufacturers, government entities, consumer interest groups, product
installers, users, distributors and testing organizations. These standards
will set minimum environmental requirements and create a progressive and
tiered approach allowing sustainability leaders to highlight their
achievements.
The new standards announcement brings the categories in which ULE is driving
the development of sustainability standards to five separate categories
covering multiple products: stone, ceramic, clay and glass building materials;
glazing materials windows and associated hardware and accessories; doors and
related hardware; mineral board, fiberboard and wallboard; and, suspended
ceiling materials and systems.
Since its launch in early 2009, the company has made several announcements
regarding top companies participating in its Environmental Claims Validation
(ECV) program. EcoRock® from Serious Materials was the first company to
achieve an ECV from ULE. Most recently companies including Owens Corning and
LG Electronics have gone through ULE's ECV program, providing the market with
products that not only say they are environmentally-preferable, but carry
specific, validated claims.
Owens Corning, an industry leader in residential and commercial building
materials, received the ULE ECV for a minimum of 35 percent recycled content
in its manufactured stone and veneer products, Cultured Stone® and ProStone®.
These products represent the first manufactured stone veneer products to
receive third party validation for recycled content.
By the end of the year, ULE will announce the first-ever company to complete
the ULE Sustainable Product Certification (SPC) program for meeting the NSF
140-2007 sustainability standards for commercial carpet.
"The building industry is one of the first industries to see concentrated
efforts for sustainability including building with sustainable design and
energy efficiency," said Steve Wenc, President, UL Environment. "It has been
the first to begin to prove out environmental claims within product categories
and it makes sense for us to start here in terms of development of
environmental standards for the industry."
ULE is an official certifying body for BIFMA level(TM) Program, a
multi-attribute sustainability standard and for the furniture industry. ULE's
validations and certifications also help manufacturers achieve the NAHB
Research Center "Green Approved" product seal, which qualifies products to
earn points toward National Green Building Certification under the ICC-700
National Green Building Standard(TM).
ULE anticipates drafts of all sustainability standards announced in 2009 to be
ready by the end of 2010. For more information, visit www.ulenvironment.com.
About UL Environment, Inc.
UL Environment (ULE) is helping support the growth and development of
sustainable products and services in the global marketplace through standards
development and independent third-party assessment and certification. ULE is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories, a global leader in
conformity assessment that has been testing products and writing standards for
more than a century. ULE currently offers Environmental Claims Validation
(ECV), a service testing and verifying manufacturers' self-declared
environmental claims and Sustainable Products Certification (SPC), a service
testing and certifying products to accepted industry standards for
environmental sustainability. ULE is developing additional environmental
standards, as well as training and advisory services to support organizations
in the sustainable products and services industry.
Media Contact:
Katya Chistik Hantel
GolinHarris for UL Environment
Mobile: 1.312.576.3168
khantel@golinharris.com
SOURCE UL Environment, Inc.
Katya Chistik Hantel, GolinHarris, +1-312-576-3168, khantel@golinharris.com,
for UL Environment
