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Abstract
To date, attempts to establish meaningful metrics for “sustainability” have failed. Determining when a building product contributes to overall sustainability objectives is mathematically challenging, charged with social and policy implications, and difficult given the business-as-usual ethos of financial interests. This paper addresses some fundamental challenges faced in establishing meaningful rating systems for environmentally preferable building products. It compares these challenges to successful product rating and labeling systems currently in commerce. It offers several ideas toward establishing an environmentally preferable product (EPP) rating and labeling system. Finally, it describes some ethical challenges we will face in establishing the boundary conditions necessary for assessing product and system environmental preferability. Efforts to establish EPP rating systems are underway by numerous well-intentioned organizations, such as ASTM International, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Athena, Green Globes, and others. All these efforts will falls short of delivering meaningful EPP ratings for building products unless they consider a robust set of variables and clearly establish the boundary conditions and measurement attributes for each. Each such effort must recognize that “One man’s bait is another man’s sushi”— that buyers and specifiers may weight certain variables differently. Any aggregation of EPP variables will necessarily force us to make decisions based on assumptions about both societal and individual ethics. Any meaningful EPP rating system for the building products industry must recognize the overwhelming importance of durable, delivered energy efficiency; these two variables must be the dominant factors in selecting building products.
To date, attempts to establish meaningful metrics for “sustainability” have failed. Determining when a building product contributes to overall sustainability objectives is mathematically challenging, charged with social and policy implications, and difficult given the business-as-usual ethos of financial interests. This paper addresses some fundamental challenges faced in establishing meaningful rating systems for environmentally preferable building products. It compares these challenges to successful product rating and labeling systems currently in commerce. It offers several ideas toward establishing an environmentally preferable product (EPP) rating and labeling system. Finally, it describes some ethical challenges we will face in establishing the boundary conditions necessary for assessing product and system environmental preferability. Efforts to establish EPP rating systems are underway by numerous well-intentioned organizations, such as ASTM International, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Athena, Green Globes, and others. All these efforts will falls short of delivering meaningful EPP ratings for building products unless they consider a robust set of variables and clearly establish the boundary conditions and measurement attributes for each. Each such effort must recognize that “One man’s bait is another man’s sushi”— that buyers and specifiers may weight certain variables differently. Any aggregation of EPP variables will necessarily force us to make decisions based on assumptions about both societal and individual ethics. Any meaningful EPP rating system for the building products industry must recognize the overwhelming importance of durable, delivered energy efficiency; these two variables must be the dominant factors in selecting building products.
Date
4/2009
4/2009
Author(s)
R Christopher Mathis
R Christopher Mathis
Page(s)
153-165
153-165
Keyword(s)
sustainability; rating system; enery efficiency; durability
sustainability; rating system; enery efficiency; durability