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comment NAHB Research Center Launches "Green Approved" Label
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center has recently begun designating products “Green Approved” and linking them to “green practices” in the NAHB scoring tool that serves as the first step toward certification under the new National Green Building Standard.
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Despite the label’s name, the Research Center says that “a product bearing the NAHB Research Center Green Approved mark is not certified as being ‘green.’ Rather, the product has been approved as eligible for earning points if the product is used in a qualifying way.” Third-party assessments of products are considered in approving or disapproving certification under the program. Manufacturers pay a fee to have a product listed as Green Approved, based on the number of green practices it is associated with—typically $1,000–$2,000 yearly, according to the Research Center.
Bob Hill, directory of laboratory and certification services for the Research Center, notes that a building can receive certification without using any Green Approved products. But, he says, the product program makes it easier to specify products that are eligible for certification points and obviates the need for certification verifiers to research listed products.
Copyright 2009 by BuildingGreen, LLC
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