The Adhesive and Sealant Council Inc. (ASC) recently announced it has submitted comments requesting the elimination of two of the new proposed material credits in the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) latest effort to revise its LEED 2012 building rating system. In particular, the ASC questioned the practicality of a new material resource credit that would measure U.S. products sold in North America by their ability to meet the qualifications set up by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) under the REACH program.
“It is ludicrous that the USGBC expects U.S. manufacturers to comply with a European regulatory program when companies are selling most of these products into North American building construction markets,” said Mark Collatz, director of Government Relations. “Aside from the fact that the USGBC apparently wants U.S. companies to be governed by European laws, from a practical perspective, under this proposal some adhesives and sealants that could be eliminated from credit consideration simply do not market their products into Europe.