Top 10 Green Building Products - Part 1

BuildingGreen, the publisher of the GreenSpec Directory and Environmental Building News, has released a top-10 list of Green Building Products. The selections are drawn primarily from new additions to the GreenSpec product directory, to which more than 250 product listings were added during 2006. Products are selected for inclusion in the GreenSpec directory by editors of Environmental Building News based on criteria developed over the past 15 years. Manufacturers do not pay to be listed in GreenSpec, and neither GreenSpec nor any other BuildingGreen publication carries advertising; both are supported exclusively by users of the information. Five of the products on the list are described below.

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Polished Concrete System from RetroPlate

Polishing concrete is a technique for turning both new and old concrete slabs into attractive, durable, finished floors. RetroPlate pioneered this process of grinding, polishing, and chemically hardening concrete in the 1990s, and its system has now been used on more than 100 million square feet of flooring. The process involves large walk-behind diamond-wheel grinders, which remove a thin layer of the concrete floor surface. Consecutively finer-grit grinding and polishing wheels achieve a fine polish. During the polishing process, sodium silicate is applied, which reacts with the concrete to form a layer of calcium silicate hydrate. The resultant concrete surface is highly durable, easy to maintain, free of VOC emissions, and more reflective (which can reduce light level requirements). The system enables the concrete slab to serve as the finished floor surface, thus reducing material use.

What makes this product green?

• Reduces impacts from construction or demolition
• Reduces heating and cooling loads
• Alternative to hazardous components
• Releases minimal pollutants
• Exceptional durability or low-maintenance

Underwater Standing Timber Salvage by Triton Logging

Triton Logging harvests underwater standing trees from forests that were submerged decades ago by reservoirs created by hydroelectric dams. The company uses its proprietary Sawfish logging submarine, which is tethered to a surface ship and controlled remotely. The Sawfish clamps onto a tree, attaches inflatable floats, then cuts the trunk with an electric chainsaw. Because the trees are cut above the reservoir floor, sediments are not disturbed. The company recovers Douglas fir, western white pine, lodgepole pine, hemlock, and other species. All of the milled wood is certified as SmartWood Rediscovered by the Rainforest Alliance. The company produces a range of lumber products and is launching a line of glulam beams made from underwater-salvaged timber.

What makes this product green?

• Salvaged products

SageGlass Tintable Glazing from Sage Electrochromics

SageGlass is an electronically tintable exterior glazing that provides glare control on demand while preserving views. SageGlass is more durable than earlier switchable glazing products, which degraded with exposure to UV light. Used with typical clear glass in an insulated glazing unit, SageGlass significantly reduces visible transmittance and solar heat gain. Sage Electrochromics is partnering with numerous window, skylight, and curtainwall manufacturers to produce both commercial and residential products with this glazing control options; these products can provide energy savings, control peak electricity demand, enhance comfort, and potentially result in higher worker productivity.

What makes this product green?

• Building components that reduce heating and cooling loads
• Improves light quality

PaperStone Certified Composite Surface Material from KlipTech Composites

PaperStone, from KlipTech Composites, is a dense, hard, water-resistant, solid-surface composite material used for countertops and exterior rainscreen siding. It is made from paper fiber and a non-petroleum resin derived in part from a natural oil in the shells of cashews. There are two versions of the product: standard PaperStone contains at least 50% post-consumer recycled paper, while the newer PaperStone Certified has 100% post-consumer recycled paper. PaperStone Certified is certified by SmartWood to carry the Forest Stewardship Council recycled-content label. Overall, the product is 60% paper fiber by weight and 40% resin. While PaperStone Certified today includes some coal-derived resin, the company expects to convert to 100% natural resins this year.

What makes this product green?

• Post-consumer recycled content
• Rapidly renewable
• FSC-certified wood
• Low-emitting product with no formaldehyde

Varia and "100 Percent" Recycled-Content Panel Products

Two interior panel products from 3form offer interior designers a wide range of design opportunities coupled with recycled content and low emissions. Varia is 3form's line of transparent and translucent panels made from its 40% pre-consumer recycled-content Ecoresin, which is chemically similar to the plastic used in beverage containers. Some of the Varia products include plant materials—collected by indigenous peoples using environmentally responsible practices—that impart biophilic design features to the product, helping building occupants feel more connected to nature. The opaque 3form 100 Percent product is made from 100% post-consumer recycled high-density polyethylene. Available in a range of colors and patterns, 100 Percent is appropriate for such applications as toilet partitions, interior workstations, and interior trim. The company has recently added UV-inhibitors that make the product appropriate for outdoor applications. Scientific Certification Systems has certified the recycled content of 3form Varia and Greenguard Environmental Institute has certified its low emissions; similar certifications for 3form 100 Percent are expected this year.

What makes this product green?

• Post-industrial recycled content
• Post-consumer recycled content
• Does not release significant pollutants into the building