Integrated Eco Strategy and the Health Product Declaration Collaborative team up to eliminate toxic chemicals from buildings with HPD data and IES software.

NORTH ADAMS, MA, UNITED STATES, March 15, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The recent East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment underscored the peril that chemicals such as vinyl chloride—used to make PVC pipe, wire and cable coatings, and myriad other products—pose for communities across the U.S. as well as throughout the manufacturing supply chain, potentially menacing company workers, their fenceline neighborhoods, builders and installers. At the same time, colleges, corporations and property owners recognize that buildings with fewer chemical toxins are not only healthier, but good business—attracting students, employees and tenants while reducing occupant illness and absenteeism, and lowering hazmat liability during renovations and demolition.

To help reduce the use of such “Red List” ingredients, sustainability services firm Integrated Eco Strategy (IES) and the Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPDC) have announced a coordinated effort—utilizing HPD data with IES software—so owners, architects and builders can recognize and avoid toxic chemicals in thousands of building materials and products. The Collaborative, the nation’s leading non-profit health information reporting organization, is now continually uploading all HPD information directly to Red2Green (R2G), IES’s materials management platform.

HPDs contain standardized, accurate and consistent reporting of product contents and associated health information for products used in the built environment. R2G software, available by subscription, enhances building project team communication as it helps users compare similar materials, spot hazardous ingredients, improve specifications lists and track chosen materials. Designers using R2G evaluate and select products from the best available options for each product type. As they choose and document materials, teams amass a growing list of preferred products to consider for each subsequent project.

Throughout, the platform’s targeted advocacy email templates allow users to ask specific manufacturers to avoid toxic materials, to stop their use at the source. At completion, each new R2G building receives a “materials passport,” containing essential details for environmental certification, if pursued, and providing an enduring record of the building’s ingredients.

“At HPDC, we believe that everyone deserves to know what's in the building products they use every day, and that's why we're excited to partner with Integrated Eco Strategy and their innovative R2G platform,” said Wendy Vittori, HPDC Executive Director. “By combining HPD data with IES software, we are giving architects, designers, builders and owners simple-to-use, smart tools to optimize projects with healthier and safer products.”

“HPDC data provides a direct link between the industry standard for materials disclosure and R2G’s materials management process, and will grow our products database—currently approaching 20,000 items—with thousands of additional products,” said Charley Stevenson, IES owner and principal. “This is a tremendous step, helping owners and design teams fully utilize this data to make their projects healthier for people and the planet, while ratcheting progress so every subsequent project is better.”

HPDC, a not-for-profit, 360-plus member association, represents architects, designers, building owners, manufacturers and others seeking to improve the transparency of building product materials information. The HPD Open Standard provides accurate and reliable reporting of product chemical, human and environmental health information. HPD reports offer an unprecedented level of detailed product information for building project design teams to use when selecting products.

IES was founded in 2010 to provide client-focused, high-value green building services. To facilitate healthier materials use, IES created the R2G software platform, which guides users, slashes research time and costs, and standardizes gathering, reporting and comparing of ingredient, emissions and related product information. Users include building owners, architects, contractors, consultants and materials specialists.

About Integrated Eco Strategy

Integrated Eco Strategy (IES) supports sustainable and regenerative building design, renovation and construction, and provides product research and project management support to avoid toxic ingredients via their proprietary software platform, Red2Green (materiallybetter.com). Headquartered in North Adams, MA, IES projects include the Science and Engineering Complex, Harvard University, Boston; Class of 1966 Environmental Center at Williams College, Williamstown; R.W. Kern Center at Hampshire College, and Hitchcock Center for the Environment, both in Amherst; and Yale Divinity School Campus, New Haven CT.

About the Health Product Declaration Collaborative

HPDC is a not-for-profit, member association with over 360 organizational members, representing the entire building industry: architects, designers, building owners, manufacturers, consultants, tool developers and others who share a common purpose to improve the transparency of information and the material health of the built environment. The HPD Open Standard has become widely adopted as the industry standard for reporting on building product contents and associated health information since its launch in 2012, with over 10,000 HPD reports publicly available. HPDC members champion the continuous improvement of the building industry’s performance through transparency, openness and innovation in the practices of reporting, disclosure, specification and selection of building products. For more information, visit hpd-collaborative.org.

Jeff Toffoli
HPDC
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