California
Begins Development of Environmentally Preferable Building Products Online
Database
The Department
of General Services Division of the State Architect (DSA)
has launched the development of a first of its kind database
designed to provide a complete list of environmentally preferred
products to be used in school construction projects. The complete
database will be posted on the DSA website and will be accessible
to anyone, beginning in the later part of 2004.
Pursuant to State Senate Bill 373, enacted last year, the database
will provide free, online access to a list of products that meet
a set of criteria designed to promote healthy indoor environments,
consume fewer resources over their life cycle, and promote recycling
and reuse. The comprehensive database project will assist owners,
architects, and contractors in sorting through a growing number
of products that make environmental and health claims.
State Senator Tom Torlakson, the author of SB 373, stated, As
a former teacher and coach, I am extremely pleased and excited
at the promise of this tool and with the team that has been assembled.
The health and welfare of our States students and teachers should
be paramount in our school planning and construction practices.
This database will allow designers to have a clear picture of the
impact that the building products in our schools have on our school
population and the environment.
The Environmentally Preferable Products Database project team
will survey several California school districts to develop a prioritized
list of product categories, based on dollars spent and potential
for environmental improvement. The process used to create the framework
of the database, the screening criteria, and the screening process
will enable users to see exactly how a product achieves the description
of environmentally preferable. In addition, products will be evaluated
on a life-cycle basis by measuring the impacts of the products
from the extraction of the resources through to the end of the
products useful life, ensuring that improvements in one area do
not come at the expense of others.
This will be a great tool for us. says San Diego City School District
Architect James Watts. Historically if we wanted to know how a
product affected the classrooms indoor air quality or how we could
safely dispose of the product when it outlived its usefulness we
have to do a ton of research on our own. This database will allow
us to get a quick, clear idea of these issues without having to
spend a lot of district funds doing it.
A diverse team of public sector professionals and private sector
experts versed in environmentally sound construction and design
techniques have formed a partnership to create this unique database.
The team combines expertise in sustainable design, energy analysis,
green product evaluation, EPP standards development, manufacturer
certification, publishing, and online information tools. The private
sector team consists of CTG Energetics (prime contractor), BuildingGreen,
Scientific Certification Systems, and Green River Data Analysis.
Visit the Environmentally
Preferable Products Database (http://www.eppbuildingproducts.org/)
to view the projects scope of work and schedule and to sign up
for
emailed updates as the database takes shape.
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