Green Building
National Green Building Programs
LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
The LEED Green Building Rating System® is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.
There are several LEED rating systems: LEED-NC (New Construction), LEED-EB (Existing Buildings), LEED-CI (Commercial Interiors), and LEED Home (Residential Construction).
The following LEED-NC credits are relevant to products offered by WFRG
(WFRG is a USGBC member):
- MRc4 - Recycled Content
- MRc6- Rapidly Renewable Materials
- MRc7- Certified Wood
- EQc4.4 - Low-Emitting Materials/Composite Wood and Agrifiber Products
Additional Resources:
- US Green Building Website: www.usgbc.org
- USGBC LEED Reference Guides
- WFRG products that contribute toward LEED credits
Green Globes - Environmental Assessments for Buildings
Green Globes is an online building and management tool that lets designers, property owners and managers assess the environmental impacts of building practices. Using a confidential questionnaire, it generates an audit report that helps to design buildings that will be energy and resource efficient, will achieve operational savings and be healthier to work or live in.
The following Green Globes points are relevant to products offered by WFRG.
- E.1 – Materials with low environmental impact
- E.2 – Minimize consumption and depletion of materials resources
Additional Resources:
- Green Globes Website: www.greenglobes.com
- More information on Green Globes points
Green Building Initiative – Bringing Green to the Main Stream
The mission of the Green Building Initiative™ is to accelerate the adoption of building practices that result in energy-efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings by promoting credible and practical green building approaches for residential and commercial construction.
GBI has been working with local homebuilder associations across the country to develop locally-relevant green building programs. It provides guidelines for building green while also honoring Green Globes as its primary standard.
Additional Resources:
- Green Building Initiative Website: www.thegbi.org
BEES- Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability
BEES measures the environmental performance of building products by using the life-cycle assessment approach specified in the ISO 14040 series of standards. All stages in the life of a product are analyzed: raw material acquisition, manufacture, transportation, installation, use, and waste management. BEES software brings to your fingertips a powerful technique for selecting cost-effective, environmentally-preferable building products. Aimed at architects, builders, and product manufacturers, this tool is based on consensus standards and designed to be practical, flexible, and transparent.
Additional Resources:
- BEES Website: http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/oae/software/bees.html
There are many state-level Green Building Programs being developed throughout the country. Some of the most established are listed below.
Build It Green is a professional non-profit membership organization whose mission is to promote healthy, energy and resource-efficient buildings in California. Supported by a solid foundation of outreach and education, Build It Green connects consumers and building professionals with the tools and technical expertise they need to build quality green buildings. Build It Green offers concise Green Building Guidelines as well as utilizing Green Points, a rating system for assessing environmentally friendly homes.
The following Green Points are relevant to products offered by WFRG:
Residential construction - Material Resource Efficiency, Flooring:
- FSC-Certified or Reclaimed Wood
- Rapidly Renewable Flooring Materials
- Recycled/Salvage Content
Commercial construction – Build It Green follows the Guidelines and Rating Systems based on LEED standards.
Additional Resources:
- Build it Green Website: www.builditgreen.org
- More information on Build It Green Points
Introduced in 1995, Built Green Colorado is a voluntary program whose purpose is to encourage homebuilders to use technologies, products and practices that will provide greater energy efficiency and healthier indoor air, reduce pollution and preserve natural resources.
The following Built Green points are relevant to products offered by WFRG.
Material Resource Efficiency – Flooring:
- Feature 166 - Reused/recovered or re-milled sources
- Feature 168 - Third-party certified sustainably harvested sources
- Feature 169 - Bamboo or cork flooring in place of hardwood
Additional Resources:
- Built Green, Colorado Website: www.BuiltGreen.org
Built Green Washington is a cooperative of Washington’s regional green home building programs. Built Green helps home builders and home buyers get the information needed to build and buy green. Most Built Green programs in Washington use a checklist that offers builders a menu of green building strategies with point values attributed to them.
Additional Resources:
- Built Green, Washington Website: www.BuiltGreenWashington.org
Over the past decade, Earth Advantage has transformed itself from a utility-based conservation program to a free standing non-profit that administers Oregon's premiere residential green building program. Earth Advantage works with builders and developers to bring energy efficient, sustainable, and healthy homes to the market.
Wood flooring products offered by WFRG can contribute to the following point in the Earth Advantage Points Worksheet:
- 4.4 Floor Framing and Insulation
- 4.4.4 FSC Certified Wood: Materials for floor assembly
Additional Resources:
- Earth Advantage Website: www.EarthAdvantage.org
