CertainTeed Leads with the Industry’s First Environmental Product Declaration for Ceilings Products
(Valley Forge, Pa.) – CertainTeed Corporation is issuing the industry’s first series of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD®) for ceilings solutions, enabling architects and designers to make the most informed decisions when selecting ceilings products for their customers. Providing scientifically robust and transparent information about environmental performance, an EPD offers third-party verification confirming the true sustainability of a product.
CertainTeed partnered with The Green Standard to develop four EPDs covering 19 product families. The EPD evaluates the products on critical environmental issues, such as production process impact, usage of raw materials and recycled content, packaging, health aspects and end of life impact. The Green Standard provides independent verification of the data in accordance with ISO 14025.
“With thorough evaluation and third party verification of our products, we are raising the bar for sustainable ceiling products,” said Dawn Chittick, director of marketing for CertainTeed Ceilings. “The EPDs provide transparent information about the environmental impact of our ceiling products, giving architects and designers the confidence that our products deliver on the promises we have made.”
EPDs provide a valuable tool in understanding the likely environmental performance of a building. Additionally, the use of EPDs greatly reduces confusion about technical information by providing a standardized format for communication of all impacts of a product or service — economic, environmental, human health, mechanical, safety and other attributes of the product type. EPDs are also useful in providing details required in specification documents as well as product information required in applications for certification in global green building systems.
“Environmental Production Declarations are important because they fill the gap for critically valuable information of the performance of individual products, adding to the performance of the whole building system,” said Deborah Dunning, founder of The Green Standard. “Both are needed to truly advance high performance buildings.”
CertainTeed Ceilings is raising the bar for high-performance ceiling panels and systems that are sustainable, attractive and functional. Backed by transparent, credible environmental impact data, its products contribute to healthy indoor environments through outstanding acoustical performance, high light reflectance and strict requirements for volatile organic compounds. Offering the highest recycled content in North America, the Ecophon product line features a 70 percent post-consumer recycled content. The hybrid design of their Adagio ceiling panels represent the best acoustical performance in the market. Through a steadfast commitment to industrial ecology, the company is utilizing renewable energy in its manufacturing facility in L’Anse, Mich. and is reducing the overall environmental impact of its products through a ceilings recycling program. All CertainTeed ceiling panels can help contribute points for LEED® certification. For more information, visit www.certainteed.com.
About CertainTeed
Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, foundations, pipe, insulation, gypsum, ceilings and access covers.
A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 6,000 employees and more than 65 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. Recognized as a 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CertainTeed earned the 2011 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award, the highest level of recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency. The group had total sales of approximately $3 billion in 2010. www.certainteed.com
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