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As discussed on the Resource Use and Buildings page, good thermal performance of the
materials in the building envelope can help the building save energy and is usually the most
important factor in building material selection (for example, insulation or thermal mass).
Lifecycle Assessment is the most thorough way to determine the environmental impacts of your
building materials. However, LCA can be very costly, varies project-to-project, and is not yet
extremely prevalent. Instead, the building and building products industries have a host of
measures and certifications for green building products. BuildingGreens Green Building
Product Certification Guide is a fantastic resource for understanding this (sometimes
intentionally) complex world.
The following is a quick rundown of factors about how the material is produced and disposed of
that can be important to consider.
Recycled Materials
Using Recycled
Materials
To use recycled content in your building, call suppliers to source recycled materials. Be sure to
verify the physical properties (strength, stiffness, etc.) of the material with recycled content. If
they are lower-performance, you may need to alter your design to use slightly more
material. This is usually still a net benefit environmentally.
Perhaps the easiest way to create a large improvement from recycled content is in concrete,
because it is used in such large quantities. Concrete can recycle fly ash from coal-fired power
plants, and slag from the blast furnaces of steel production, among other materials. Be aware,
however, that these materials may contain toxins like mercury; if so, they should not be directly
exposed to occupants.
Some building materials already have recycled content by default. For instance, most structural
steel contains 90% recycled content, while sheet steel usually contains around 25% recycled
content. Aluminum for curtain walls generally has no recycled content.
To make your building (or parts of your building) recyclable, design for disassembly. That is,
make it easy to separate different kinds of materials from each other. Some strategies for this
include using as few different kinds of materials as possible, using undoable fasteners (e.g.
screws rather than nails or epoxies), and using larger assemblies that have greater value than
small pieces.
Reused Materials
Reused materials are even more beneficial than
recycled materials, because in addition to saving
natural resources, they also require far less
manufacturing. However, it may not be zero
manufacturing. Reclaimed wood, for instance, is
often planed or otherwise cleaned up for reuse.
You can also make it easy to reuse the materials
from your own building by designing for
disassembly. This means using constructions that
are easy to separate from each other.
Sustainably Harvested
Materials
Sustainable harvesting is the practice of harvesting
a resource no faster than it can regrow, so that
there is no net depletion of the resource or damage
to the ecosystem.
The most common form of this is sustainable
forestry for wood products.
The proof of sustainable harvesting is generally in
third-party certification. The most widelyrecognized and credible international standard
is Forest Stewardship Council ("FSC")
certification.
Some tropical hardwoods grow so slowly and are from such delicate ecosystems that there is
controversy about whether they can be sustainably harvested while still remaining economical
for use in buildings. You may wish to avoid sourcing these, or perform extra due diligence when
sourcing them.
Non-Toxic Materials
The toxicity of a material is measured and published in its Materials Safety Data Sheet
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Chloroprene (Neoprene)
Formaldehyde (added)
Halogenated Flame Retardants
Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)
Lead (added)
Mercury
Petrochemical Fertilizers and Pesticides
Phthalates
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
Wood treatments containing Creosote, Arsenic or Pentachlorophenol
(source)
These substances are usually not advertised in products, but can be present as fire retardants,
adhesives, stabilizers, refrigerant gases ("working fluids"), and other ingredients. Some of these
substances are classified as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which can slowly off-gas
and can cause health risks in buildings that arent properly ventilated (see Indoor Air Quality).
Even materials that do not cause concerns about indoor air quality for the building's occupants
can still carry toxicity risk for construction workers and manufacturing workers. Some materials
can also leach toxins to groundwater when they are rained on.
Manufacturers are starting to communicate more about the presence of VOCs in their products
(like paints and composite wood products). However, some due diligence is required to ensure
harmful chemicals and VOCs are not present in the products you source.
In addition to lists referenced above, the health impacts of specific building products are
becoming easier to understand and compare because of industry efforts like the Pharos
Project (from the Healthy Building Network).
Local Materials