Material design choices have an impact beyond form and function. Building materials can affect the indoor environment and human health, as well as the greater ecosystem, supply chain and beyond. Product transparency is key, and manufacturers that are open about their products enable choices that can transform the industry for the better.
Product ingredients, indicators for environmental impact, toxicity and sustainable building benchmarks should be considered as a set of performance attributes. This is why labels like Declare that allow manufacturers to voluntarily disclose product information are important.
Declare labels help specifiers quickly identify products that meet their project’s sustainability and healthy material requirements. Declare labels display all intentionally added ingredients and residuals at or above 100 ppm (0.01%) present in the final product by weight. Each ingredient must be reported with a chemical name, CAS number, and percentage or percentage range.
These product constituents are presented on a label, akin to a nutritional label, along with end-of-life information, responsible sourcing, VOC content, emissions testing, LBC compliance and other information designed to help specifiers better understand each product.
By facilitating and simplifying the exchange of complex information, Declare has positively changed the materials marketplace to enable buildings that support human and environmental health, and increased material health awareness.
Transformation through transparency is something that resonates with Australian flooring manufacturer GH Commercial, which currently has 18 products on Declare, all of them LBC Red List Free, setting a high industry benchmark.
