From the trees in your backyard to “Eco Options”TM at the Home Depot:

Green building material alternatives are being offered for all parts of the built environment.

While many materials are more readily available for large commercial projects, other, more common items such as zero VOC paints, are becoming a commonplace item on the retail level.

What makes a green building material “green” can cover many facets; Steel is not a renewable resource, but truly recycles, doesn’t down-cycle, and there is ample supply from demolition and manufacturing waste.

Bamboo takes only 3 to 7 years to harvest and very little energy to grow, but a lot of manufacturing and shipping creates a lot of embodied energy.

When assessing the “greenness” of an environmentally friendly building product I generally look at the following criteria:

1) Where does it come from - Is it a readily renewable resource? Is it locally manufactured? How are the raw materials and final products transported?

2) How is it made - What are the ingredients in the manufacturing process? Is there fair trade involved? Does it have a large amount of recycled content? How much energy does it take to produce?

3) How does it affect the environment after it is used – Does the material off gas? What is its care and life span? Is it recyclable at the end of its initial use?

Very few materials can meet all of these criteria and this is not an exhaustive list, but these are essential issues to be weighed initially and balanced out for the best options for each product – one product may work for a certain project but not be feasible for another.

Consumer demand for greener products is on the rise as the general public becomes more informed. This is a beginning. We have a long way to go and along the road there will challenges. Green washing, resistance to change, and comparatively high initial cost are just a few of these hurdles.

Among the bigger challenges will be the inherent human trait of not wanting to change; we have been building the same way with the same materials for quite some time.

Conversely, as consumers, we have become accustomed to the Wal-Mart World. We want it cheap and we want it now. The perception of "savings" may cost us more due to the lack of quality and shorter life span of these goods. An important aspect of green building is longevity and quality of product. At first this may seem expensive but over the long run green may be “cheaper.

There may be two fronts of attack for those of us immersed in green building – as a procession as well as our responsibilities as educators – there is a big difference between consulting with a client on target achievement versus budget and convincing my brother in law not to use toxic stain for the interior wood on his sun room. These are conundrums we are challenged with everyday.

This is the beginning of an on-going series for Green Building Pro. I hope it will encourage discussion on green building materials in the marketplace including what’s available and upcoming, what works and what does not. Article topics will include:

1. “What is the greenest floor?” –local versus FSC versus embodied energy,
2. VOC’s and other bad ooey-gooeys!,
3. 3^rd party certifications in North America and Europe,
4. Green washing in green building materials,
5. “Cool” products.

The movement toward mainstreaming green building materials is gaining momentum alongside the acceptance of the compact fluorescent and Energy Star Homes.

We’ve come a long way, baby, but we’ve only just begun.
Please e-mail me with comments, criticisms, and column ideas. hutchison@csv.ca

About the Author
John-David is currently a working as a Sustainability Consultant with CSV Architects in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, specializing in the coordination of the process and submission for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Certification by The Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC). He also makes the best veggie burger in the Outaouais.