By Jeffrey King
Increased public awareness has led to a growing market demand for environmentally friendly or green building design, construction practices and products. Manufacturers are promoting their green products, homeowners demanding green construction renovation and an increasing number of local governments are mandating buildings be built to environmental standards. Yet, few areas have engendered more confusion. What are green products, what are green construction practices and where does floor covering fit in?

There is no single, universal system for determining whether any particular product or construction practice is green. Rather, a range of rating systems and programs has been developed that assess whether construction practices and products are environmentally friendly. Adding to the complexity are the multiple programs for certifying products as green.

There are three basic rating systems for construction. These various green building standards and guidelines have been developed with the goal of designing and constructing buildings that reduce the environmental footprint of the building and the material used, as well as promoting the health of the building’s occupants.

LEED

The Leadership in Energy in Environmental Design (LEED) rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council is the most recognized of these programs. LEED consists of four separate rating systems:

* New Construction and Renovation
* Existing Buildings
* Commercial Interiors
* LEEDS for Homes

Under each system, there are four main levels of certification: certified, silver, gold and platinum. Certification under any of these standards requires independent, third-party verification.

GREEN GLOBES

The Green Globes system applies only to commercial buildings. Like the LEED system, Green Globes is a performance-based standard that applies to buildings and building projects, not individual products or building components. Individual products can, however, contribute points according to the rating system. Selection of materials and resources accounts for approximately 10% of potentially available Green Globes points. The Green Globes system relies on self-assessments, but those who wish to obtain an official Green Globes rating must submit their assessments to a third-party verifier. There are four levels of achievement represented by one, two, three or four globes.

NAHB STANDARD

Finally, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has just this year introduced a new rating system for residential building. It is the only rating system to be ANSI-approved. Any homebuilder can seek certification for a project through an affiliated entity, such as a local home building association, or by working directly with the NAHB Research Center.

The National Association of Home Builders standard may find greater acceptance than LEED-Homes for the majority of residential builders. LEED-Homes may be more appealing to high-end or custom projects, including those using unconventional materials and methods, such as grey water reuse and off-grid energy features.

There are also other systems being promoted, but they are not recognized rating systems. For example, the U.S. Green Building Council recently teamed with American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) to create a series of ReGREEN guidelines for residential remodeling.

Adding to the complexity, a substantial portion of the rating systems does not deal with floor covering products. The rating systems generally assess innovation and design process, building location, assess to public transportation, water conservation, energy efficiency, environmentally friendly materials and indoor environmental quality. Even if floor covering dealers or contractors can work through these various systems, they then need to determine whether the products they use meet the standards to be considered green.

There are a variety of programs that certify products as environmentally friendly. The key is to know which certification programs meet green standards. For example, LEED standards only recognize the Forest Stewardship Council certification of wood products, while Green Globes also accepts certification from the Scientific Certification Systems, the American Tree Farm System and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

WHY IT MATTERS

The floor covering dealer and contractor cannot ignore the growing demand for green building. A recent study by the National Association of Home Builders found that 40% of builders find “building green” makes it easier to market in a down economy, and 60% of builders claim homebuyers are willing to pay more for green homes. Moreover, 21% of homebuilders expect to be building 90% of projects green. The floor covering dealer who understands the green building standards and where flooring fits into those standards will be in a better position to take advantage of these new opportunities.

In addition, an increasing number of states and municipalities have mandates that new construction meet one of the rating systems. Mandates regarding green building standards have recently been implemented in Boston, New York, Dallas and Los Angeles. The requirements under these local laws vary from city to city. For example, New York City’s Green Building Law requires most city-owned and city-funded buildings be LEED silver certified. Boston has amended its zoning regulations to require all private and public construction projects over 50,000 square feet to be designed and planned to meet minimum LEED certification standards. The Beverly Hills City Council has adopted an even more stringent standard to require that buildings between 10,000 square feet and 25,000 gross square feet meet the LEED certification standards and that buildings over 25,000 square feet must meet the LEED silver certification standards.

In addition, some states and local governments provide tax incentives for commercial or residential buildings that meet green standards. For example, New Mexico and New York offer a personal and business tax credit applicable to both commercial and residential buildings. Baltimore County offers a property tax credit for commercial buildings that achieve at least a LEED silver rating. Some city and state governments offer grants or loans to private developers that incorporate green design standards into new or existing commercial or residential buildings.

There are also other benefits to building green. Buildings, particularly those that are highly energy efficient, may qualify for special financing opportunities through a mechanism called green mortgaging.

WFCA TO THE RESCUE

To understand where the flooring industry can help a building earn certification under each of the green building systems, it is necessary to recognize the categories in which flooring may contribute credits under each of these systems. Yet, with these multiple standards and thousands of pages of criteria, the floor covering contractor would need to spend countless hours working through this maze of information and identify the portions that impact flooring.

As a result, the World Floor Covering Association developed Green Flooring: A Primer, which provides an introduction to the current various green assessment programs so members will better understand which of their products and practices may be characterized as environmentally friendly or green. It also provides identification to various product certification programs to help WFCA members identify which products are green. Moreover, the primer explains the current advantages that a building or home owner would have in constructing green, which often involves tax credits, rebates and other financial benefits. Armed with this information, WFCA members will be better able to capitalize on the demand for green products and pursue contracts on green construction products. WFCA’s Green Flooring Primer provides the relevant information regarding the various rating systems as they apply to floor covering.

WFCA initially printed the primer in 2007. Since that time, new standards have been developed, new product certification programs have been instituted and new environmentally friendly products have emerged. As a result, WFCA has updated its Green Flooring Primer, which is available to all WFCA members.

Jeffrey King is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Crowell & Moring LLP. He has more than 30 years of experience in complex litigation with a focus on contracts, constructions, antitrust in social property and healthcare. He serves as general counsel for the WFCA and other trade associations.