Material Label Decoder – A new tool to help specify healthy and sustainable materials

Let’s be honest, with the multitude of requirements, labels and standards, selecting materials that meet sustainable design criteria is challenging! The Green Engineer has collaborated with PCA to demystify the process. We developed a Material Label Decoder that facilitates rapid comparison between commonly encountered material labels, their fundamental impacts, and how they interact with the Common Materials Framework.  We’re sharing this today as a resource to help you assess materials against common criteria as you work through today’s projects and prepare for the upcoming LEED version 5.

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The process for developing this tool started a few years ago when several of the designers at PCA reached out to me and asked if I’d like to collaborate on an infographic to simplify material labels.  We recognized that there are a multitude of sustainability labels and material standards ,each one evaluating different health and environmental impacts and utilizing different criteria to address concerns. It is often not immediately clear even to someone with an intermediate understanding of potential hazards what is and is not included within these labels. This can lead to challenges knowing whereto start when trying to specify healthy and sustainable materials.  Our goal was to create a tool that could stack these certifications next to each other to quickly see what each certification evaluated, how they are similar to each other, and how they differed.  Together, we researched over two dozen of the most prevalent material labels in order to readily understand them and compare their key impacts. The result was our new Material Label Decoder.      

The Decoder is organized using the Common Materials Framework (CMF).  You will find each of the five categories along the left side of the matrix: Human Health and Wellbeing, Social Health and Equity, Climate Health, Ecosystem Health, and Circular Economy.  In the new LEEDv5 rating system, the credit “Optimized Building Products” will require selecting products that achieve multiple optimization criteria across these five impact areas.  Project teams can use the Decoder to determine which material labels will meet multiple impact categories, which may help in earning the credit.            

Another example of how the Decoder may be beneficial is when you are working with a client that wants to avoid Red List chemicals in their building.  This matrix includes some of the most problematic chemicals and shows you which materials labels require their exclusion.  This can help design teams hone in on the material labels that may be most helpful in identifying products that meet the project goals.

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You may also want to check out the USGBC Leadership Series on September 17 in Boston.

USGBC staff and local experts will discuss the new LEED v5rating system. Learn more and sign up here.  

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