Certification programs and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) both provide a valuable approach to evaluating the environmental performance of products. However, a combination of the two provides even deeper insight and credibility. The following matrix identifies various certification programs currently in use by architects and designers and provides an evaluation of eacha, with the inclusion of a life-cycle approach, and with LCA as a part of the certification program.
Certification
Program
signifies meeting the criteriaSingular Focus Publicly Available Assessment Methods and Performance Thresholds Publicly Available Summary of Results Multi-Stakeholder Development Process Public Standards Appeals Process
(recycled content, sustainable forestry, etc.)Multiple Attribute Focus
(combines more than one focus area)Life Cycle Focus
(criteria spans a cradle-to-grave concept)
McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry
Government of Canada
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Scientific Certification Systems
Forest Stewardship Council
GREENGUARD Environmental Institute
Carpet & Rug Institute
Green Seal Organization
Scientific Certification Systems
Market Transformation to Sustainability
Scientific Certification Systems
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Certification
Program
C2C
McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry
EcoLogo
Government of Canada
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Floor Score
Scientific Certification Systems
FSC Certified
Forest Stewardship Council
GREENGUARD Air Quality Certification
GREENGUARD Environmental Institute
Green Label Plus
Carpet & Rug Institute
Green Seal
Green Seal Organization
Indoor Advantage
Scientific Certification Systems
Market Transformation to Sustainability
Sustainable Choice
Scientific Certification Systems
SFI Certified
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Based on information publicly available on the program's Web site.
- Since program contains mulitple product categories with different criteria, the authors cannot guarantee that these criteria apply to each category directly. In principle, the program addresses these.
- Only requires the use of LCA to reach the highest level of certification: Platinum.