Katie Matthews, assistant project manager, and Sylvia Schweri, who was a former assistant project manager for Argento/Graham and now does sustainability and fundraising consulting, worked to attain the credit for the California Wellness Foundation headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, which achieved LEED Silver for Commercial Interiors. They say that, although many vendors lack holistic product impact data, those suppliers who are able to provide the information are positioning themselves as market leaders.
“It’s hard to find materials that have this information,” says Matthews. “And if they do have the information, you might have to email the manufacturer to get it. If you don’t know to ask for the data, it’s easy to assume they don’t have it.”
“The credits seem to be really well calibrated to motivate market change. That’s one of USGBC’s goals with LEED v4, and I think they hit it on the head,” says Schweri, who is currently sustainability and fundraising consultant for various nonprofit organizations.
For the pilot credit on the California Wellness Foundation project, Matthews and Schweri analyzed the product impact of ceiling tiles, carpet tiles, and duct wrap. “We’re already seeing a lot more manufacturers catching up, having environmental product declarations and health declarations,” Matthews says. “It’s helping a lot.”
Sherwin-Williams senior vice president of product innovation Steve Revnew agrees. He says, “The primary benefit of this pilot credit is that it compiles the most meaningful content from existing documents (EDPs, SDSs, and Product Lens) and puts them in one place. By partnering with organizations like Underwriters Laboratory, Sherwin-Williams can provide credible information to architects and other purchasers in a format that is easy to understand and act upon.”
Revnew believes the main benefit of this document is how it has improved communication with their customers. “This communication is just another way that Sherwin-Williams partners with our customers to drive innovation and make coatings that are compliant with the most stringent regulatory requirements, including sustainability.”
“That’s the point of LEED,” Matthews adds. “It shifts the market.”