UL Announces Product Lens™ Program Acceptance by USGBC’s LEED Certification Program

UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a global safety science leader, announced today the Product Lens™ chemical disclosure program has been recognized under the Building Product Design and Optimization grouping – Materials Ingredient credit by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED® green building program. More information about the material ingredient credit can be found on the USGBC website. LEED is referenced in project specifications for 71% of projects valued at $50 million and over. Acceptance in the LEED certification program is another validation that UL’s Product Lens program provides greater context with information that increases the value and usability of chemical disclosure documents. UL’s Product Lens program was developed to address the needs of architects and designers seeking more transparency about the impacts of chemicals in products. Much of this demand is driven by green building standards and the need for improving the understanding of hazards and decision making. The Product Lens program was designed specifically with LEED v4 in mind, engaging both A&D, assessor and manufacturers in the stakeholder process in order to balance the needs in the marketplace with the rigor of the program. “Sherwin-Williams chose to partner with UL on the development of a Product Lens report so we could provide architects and designers with third-party certified data to help them meet the strict requirements of LEED certification,” said Steve Revnew, senior vice president of product innovation, Sherwin-Williams. “This innovative program will enable coatings professionals to make informed decisions based off credible information that is transparent and easy to understand.” Product Lens program adds context and clarity by creating even more transparency for results throughout the life cycle and adding in exposure indicators to help a user make a more informed decision. The program is a result of collaboration between UL Environment, MBDC and the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, with the Product Lens™ program basing the chemical assessment on the Materials Health Assessment Methodology from the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Products program. This harmonization of base methods stemmed from the needs in the marketplace and by demand drivers to avoid duplicative or conflicting methods. The tool was designed with the input from 15 architect and designer firms in order to best provide information that would be useful in decision making. “Belden’s Product Lens documents offer our customers increased transparency by being intuitive and easy to read, and by providing a life cycle oriented deep-dive into our product make-up,” said Greg Deitz, global product line manager – data cable, Belden. “Official recognition by the USBGC will only enhance an already valuable transparency document.” Product Lens offers the disclosure requested in a manner that communicates relevant information combined with 3rd party credibility. The result is an easy to understand solution for the product transparency demands in the marketplace today. “ARAUCO North America is committed to providing our customers and other interested parties with ingredient information about our products and recognizes the benefits of having this information reviewed and verified by a trusted third party,” said Kerry Little, corporate sustainability manager, ARAUCO North America. “UL’s Product Lens report delivers this information in a clear, concise format that meets multiple ‘green program’ ingredient reporting requirements. We believe the Product Lens report will prove to become a key tool in our product documentation line-up.” Product Lens™ reports are available in SPOT, UL’s sustainable product database.