The first official green home building program began in 1985 as a city-wide energy-efficiency initiative in Austin, TX. The Green Building Program was the country’s first comprehensive program to encourage using sustainable building techniques in residential, commercial and municipal construction. The organization defines sustainability as meeting our present needs without compromising the needs of future generations, or, simply, green building.

This article addresses some frequently asked questions about green and green building.

What Does “Green Building” Mean?

Green building is a worldwide movement to promote the use of environmentally friendly products and practices in de-construction, construction, remodeling, and repair. The goal is to match materials and activities to building design to minimize the overall environmental impact.

What are VOCs? What makes a product VOC-compliant?

VOC is an acronym for volatile organic compound. These compounds react with atmospheric ozone, along with particulates, to form smog. Smog is thought to be a major contributor to air pollution and health problems, such as asthma.

In 1991, the U.S. EPA passed the Clean Air Act with the specific intention of lowering smog levels. One way to do this is to reduce the amount of VOCs available for release into the air. Therefore, parts of the country where smog is a greater problem have begun implementing regulations limiting the amount of VOC a product can contain. If a product’s VOC level is below the limit set forth in the regulations, it is VOC-compliant.

What Makes a Product “Green”?

Although the term “green” is subjective, most green products can be classified into one or more of the following categories.

• Products made with salvaged, recycled or agricultural waste content
• Products that conserve natural resources
• Products that avoid toxic or other emissions
• Products that save energy or water
• Products that contribute to a safe, healthy environment

How Can I Tell if a Product is Green?

One key way to determine if a product is green is to note its VOC content. The lower the VOC level, the more environmentally friendly that product will be. Since solvents represent a large portion of the VOC category, it also means that the solvent level in the product will be lower; therefore, the product is likely to be safer for the environment. The amount of recycled content in either the product or the packaging ultimately helps conserve the environment, thus adding to a product’s eco-friendliness.

What is a Green Adhesive

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Key criteria for defining an adhesive as green include formulas that are green because of what is not in them (e.g., hazardous air pollutants and ozone depletors); products that are green because they reduce the environmental impact of building operation (e.g., the energy efficiency gained from the effective use of caulks and sealants); and products that contribute to a safe and healthy indoor environment (e.g., low VOCs or formaldehyde-free adhesives).

The table can be used as a benchmark for green adhesives for consumer products weighing less than 16 oz.

What Are the Benefits of Going Green? Why Should I Use Green Products?

The use of green products offers many benefits to the builders, remodelers and/or owners of residential dwellings or commercial buildings: improved air quality, less depletion of natural resources, energy savings, potential tax breaks, and the potential for fewer health problems.

What Are the Differences in Green Rating Systems?

Several green building programs have sprung up in the United States, particularly on local and state levels. However, three national programs appear to be the most popular: the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Green Building Guidelines, and the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes program.

LEED is a building rating system that requires the use of a consultant to help rate a building project for one of four levels of certification: Platinum, Gold, Silver or Certified. LEED offers programs in several areas of building — both commercial and residential. Rating systems and guidelines can be downloaded from www.usgbc.org.

The NAHB has also published a set of guidelines that builders, home building associations and project managers can use to apply green concepts to residential construction projects. The guidelines also work on a point-rated system (Gold, Silver and Bronze) and provide a voluntary and affordable option for the mainstream homebuilder. The NAHB’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines can be downloaded at www.nahb.org.

The Green Building Initiative (GBI), established by the NAHB, has adopted a popular Canadian Green Building program for commercial construction called Green Globes. This program is currently the only interactive, web-based green-building rating tool for conducting environmental assessments of a building project. It is gaining popularity in the residential arena as well.

Reprinted from www.titebondgreenchoice.com. Information copyright^© Franklin International.

SIDEBAR: Green Adhesives Line Introduced

The adhesives manufacturer that developed the first eco-friendly construction adhesive two decades ago has introduced a line of solvent-free adhesives for the construction industry. Franklin International’s GREENchoice brand includes seven solvent-free adhesives and one eco-safe, polyurethane-based formula. The adhesives offer the same performance of solvent-based formulas without the odor or risks to construction crews or the environment.

Eight types of adhesives comprise the core GREENchoice line. Solvent-free adhesives include GREENchoice Heavy-Duty Construction, Projects & Repair, Weatherproof Subfloor, Professional Drywall, Professional Cove Base, Professional Acoustical Sealant and Professional Radon Sealant. The GREENchoice line also includes eco-friendly Premium Polyurethane Construction Adhesive.

“Franklin launched the GREENchoice program to emphasize our own deep, ongoing commitment to offering products that are safe for the environment, for the crews who apply them and for the people who live or work in the buildings in which our products are used,” said Franklin president Evan Williams. “We embraced our obligation to develop environmentally safe adhesives many years before the green movement took root. Today, we are pleased to be able to offer the industry every type of green adhesive needed to get the job done well — and safely — and to help raise industry awareness of the merits of building green.”

In addition to its solvent-free construction adhesives, Franklin offers close to 60 types of eco-friendly, solvent-free or VOC-compliant Titebond construction adhesives, flooring and specialty adhesives, wood glues, and caulks and sealants.

“The breadth of Franklin’s offering in solvent-free and VOC-compliant green products firmly establishes us as the long-time leader in adhesives for green building,” said Nate Miles, vice president, Construction Division. “You don’t develop this remarkable product breadth overnight; it only evolves through a 20-year commitment to the environment and our customers.”

For more information, visit the GREENchoice website at www.titebondgreenchoice.com.

About Franklin International
Based in Columbus, OH, Franklin International was established in 1935 and today ranks among the largest privately held manufacturers of adhesives and sealants for commercial and industrial applications. Franklin integrates its core competency, emulsion polymerization, into a product offering that includes glues, adhesives, hot melts, binders, films, and sizing compounds. These products are distributed globally for use in construction, furniture manufacturing, millwork, paper converting, pressure-sensitive paper products and fiberglass reinforcement.

SIDEBAR: Green Adhesives Glossary

AFG-01: American Plywood Association’s standard specification for glued floor systems. It requires that glues applied at the jobsite be sunlight resistant, strong under many moisture and temperature conditions, and able to fill gaps.

ASTM C 557: Standard specification for adhesives for fastening gypsum wallboard to wood framing.

ASTM C 834: Standard specification for latex sealants (has no more than 30% volume shrinkage).

ASTM C 919: Standard practice for use of sealants in acoustical applications. This is where the sound transmission value (or STC) can be found.

ASTM D 3498: Standard specification for adhesives for field-gluing plywood to lumber framing for floor systems.

ASTM E 84: Standard test method for surface burning characteristics of building materials.

ASTM E 90: Standard test method for laboratory measurement of airborne sound transmission loss of building partitions and elements.

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) Blocks: Precast manufactured building stone made of all-natural raw materials. It is an economical, environmentally friendly, and lightweight cellular structural material that provides thermal and acoustic insulation, as well as fire and termite resistance.

Bio-Based Products: Commercial or industrial products (other than food or feed) that use biological, renewable, domestic or agricultural products. Examples include soy-based products and biodiesel fuel.

Brownfield: Abandoned, idle, or underused industrial or commercial buildings where expansion or development is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.

C557-03: See ASTM C 557.

C919-02: See ASTM C 919.

CARB (California Air Resources Board): The “clean-air agency” for California. Established in 1967, it is a governing board made up of 11 members appointed by the governor; the chairman is the only full-time member. It is known for setting extremely stringent standards for air quality.

Certified Wood: See FSC-Certified Wood.

D 3498: See ASTM D 3498.

E84-04: See ASTM E 84.

E90-04: See ASTM E 90.

Energy Star: Introduced in 1992 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a voluntary labeling program. The program was designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products to help reduce greenhouse emissions. Originally designed for computers and monitors, it has now been expanded to include office products, major appliances, lighting, home electronics, and more.

Engineered Lumber: Engineered lumber is designed to reduce the amount of material needed to frame a building. By designing away from full-dimension sawn lumber, fewer large-growth trees need to be cut and smaller dimension lumber can be assembled in various configurations to span long distances with equal or superior strength.

FSC-Certified Wood: The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a non-profit organization that certifies various forests around the world that exhibit good sustainability and management practices based on a specific management criteria. The wood from these forests is often quickly renewable using hybrid timber and advanced forestry methods. Other forests are carefully managed by limiting the impact on both the environment and the people nearby, and by demonstrating a social benefit in the process.

Green Building: A worldwide movement to promote the use of environmentally friendly products and practices in de-construction, construction, remodeling, and repair. The goal is to match materials and activities to building design so that the overall environmental impact is minimized as much as possible.

Green Roof: A growing roof system that uses a specialized undercarriage as a waterproof membrane for excess water removal. Various types of vegetation are set into a special growing media and help to replace the displaced vegetation in the building footprint. Green roofs can regulate the flow of excessive storm water by metering the release of water from the roof area.

Home Building Association (HBA): State and local associations of homebuilders who have organized through the NAHB.

Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs): Forms for poured concrete walls that stay in place as a permanent part of the wall assembly. The forms, made of foam insulation or other insulating material, are either pre-formed interlocking blocks or separate panels connected with plastic ties. The left-in-place forms not only provide a continuous insulation and sound barrier, but also work as a backing for drywall on the inside, and stucco, lap siding, or brick on the outside.

Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED): A rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council that measures a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development; water savings; energy efficiency; materials selection; and indoor environmental quality.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Models the complex interaction between a product and the environment from cradle to grave. Also known as Life Cycle Analysis or Ecobalance.

Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF): An engineered panel product that can be used for cabinets and wall panels, while other MDF products can be shaped into moldings, ceiling tiles, flooring, interior doors and other uses. Exterior-grade MDF can be made into garage doors, sheds and other outdoor applications.

National Association of Home Builders (NAHB): A Washington, D.C.-based trade association that helps promote the policies that make housing a national priority. NAHB has a membership of over 235,000 of homebuilders and/or remodelers. NAHB also has developed the Model Green Home Building Guidelines, a toolkit for builders and homebuilding associations to engage in green building practices.

Passive Solar: The use of the sun’s energy for heating and cooling a structure. It takes advantage of natural energy without requiring maintenance or mechanical systems.

Pre-Consumer Recycled Content: Also called post-industrial, this term refers to the recycling of industrial or manufacturing byproducts. For example, using scraps from a lumber mill to make MDF or OSB (oriented strand board).

Polyurethane: Any of various resins in a range of flexibilities that are used in tough chemical-resistant coatings, adhesives, and foams.

Post-Consumer Recycled Content: Many products can be manufactured using “post-consumer” materials, such as plastic, fiber, wood and glass. Recycling these materials saves them from ending up in a landfill, where they will take up space.

Solvent: Any substance capable of dissolving another without chemically reacting with it. Often accompanied by a strong odor.

Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs): Panels of thick foam (polystyrene or polyurethane) sandwiched between two layers of OSB, plywood, or fiber-cement.

Straw Bale: A building method that uses straw bales as structural elements, insulation, or both. Straw is a renewable resource that acts as excellent insulation and is fairly easy to use in construction.

Tankless Water Heater: Tankless water heaters provide hot water at a pre-set temperature when needed without storage, thereby reducing or eliminating standby losses.

UL 723 Classified: 0 Rating for Flame Spread and Smoke Developed (tested as applied in two 1/2 inch round beads 8 inches on center).

Urethane: See Polyurethane.

Volatile Organic Compound (VOC): Volatile organic compounds are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are up to 10 times higher indoors than outdoors. Examples include: paints and lacquers; paint strippers; cleaning supplies; pesticides; building materials and furnishings; office equipment; graphics and craft materials; permanent markers; and photographic solutions.

Zero Emissions: 100% effective use of all output waste, with none being sent to a landfill or incinerator.