Whether you’re perusing the latest issue of an architectural magazine or reading a green building blog online, the word “disclosure” is certain to catch your eye. With the release of the latest version of the LEED Green Building Rating System (LEED v4),1 disclosure has taken center stage in the ongoing discussion of how “green building” is defined. And sharing the stage with disclosure are new tools such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs), which have emerged to help measure the “greenness” of building products. But in order to understand disclosure’s eventual impact on building design and practice, it is important to start with a review of how the concept developed and how it is related to other important sustainable building concepts.
Many different stakeholders within the building community have been active in the promotion of disclosure, but they all tend to share similar questions. A particular building material may help save operating energy, but how does it impact other equally important environmental concerns? A product may have a high recycled content, but after the effort required to salvage, transport, and convert the material, is there still a tangible net environmental benefit? Beyond specific environmental concerns, how does the product affect the safety, health and well-being of building occupants?