The increasing emphasis on environmentally friendly new construction and renovations in recent years has led to a proliferation of guidelines, standards and rating systems designed to offer guidance on product selection. Now, a collaboration among green building organizations seeks to guide building owners and product specifiers through the process. The partnership aims to help owners meet sustainability commitments and future-proof their assets by aligning with global standards and gives specifiers clearer access to verified claims.
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), along with mindful MATERIALS, the Green Building Council of Australia, International Living Future Institute and the Building Research Establishment recently announced an international partnership to create consistency across rating systems, including LEED and WELL.
The tools and frameworks used to measure the impacts of building products often differ, creating confusion and duplication. With the emergence of more stringent sustainability reporting requirements, it is vital that reporting metrics align to enable benchmarking and measurement. This partnership aims to create a shared language and approach for materials assessment that features a common language, aligns data and metrics, and establishes global targets for climate, nature and circularity.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.?
