GreenCE, an education provider for architects and green building certifiers, partners with Elixir Environmental to offer life cycle assessment verification service to building product manufacturers

Wendy Lisney

RIDGEFIELD, Washington , March 11, 2013 (press release) – GreenCE, Inc. has launched Life Cycle Assessment services for building product manufacturers. GreenCE is the leading provider of sustainable education for the construction industry, with over 100,000 subscribers.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a holistic approach to determining the total environmental impacts of a product, from extraction of raw materials and processing, to distribution, use, and end of life. By translating input/output data into more environmentally relevant information, LCA can offer a window into the environmental performance of a product. Used as an internal document, LCA is an effective tool for decision making, to improve the environmental performance of building products, reduce costs, and influence marketing decisions.

“We are thrilled to be working with GreenCE to deliver LCA services. As a nationally recognized leader in sustainable education, GreenCE understands the importance of being ecologically responsible and financially profitable. GreenCE’s new LCA services can help building product manufacturers substantiate marketing claims, reduce costs, and lessen their impact on the environment,” stated Tara Blank, Ph.D., founder of Elixir Environmental.

GreenCE has partnered with Elixir Environmental to develop Life Cycle Assessments and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) to meet the growing demand for product transparency. An EPD summarizes LCA results, effectively communicating the environmental performance of a product to customers. LCAs and EPDs that are third-party verified to ensure compliance with ISO standards represent the pinnacle of transparency.

Companies such as Google, Perkins & Will, and Gensler are advocating more product transparency from product manufacturers. Google is using brand power and purchasing power to move the market. Architects working on sustainable building projects are demanding product transparency in order to meet their goals.

“Customers continue to prefer safer, less toxic, and more sustainable products. There are fiscal incentives for companies to improve their products and manufacturing methods. Consumers vote with their dollars. Architects vote with their specifications,” stated Dr. Blank.

Building product manufacturers will have several new opportunities to contribute more points on projects under LEED v4. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a voluntary, consensus-based, market driven program that provides third-party verification of green buildings. The life-cycle approach to Materials and Resources credits in LEED provide incentives for project teams to specify products from manufacturers that provide full transparency of their product’s environmental performance. LCAs and EPDs will play a crucial role in LEED v4.

Building product manufacturers interested in learning more about LCA and EPD can visit http://www.greence.com and http://www.elixirenvironmental.com.

GreenCE, Inc. is the nation’s leading provider of sustainable continuing education for design professionals with over 100,000 subscribers. GreenCE is an education provider for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). GreenCE develops online, face-to-face, and video continuing education courses.

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