Currents

An Energy Newsletter for Local Governments

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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