IRVINE, Calif. — Boral Roofing has just announced that its Cradle to Cradle Gold certified clay roof tile now may provide builders and architects with an added LEED pilot point under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Pilot Credit 43 Program which recognizes sustainable products certified by third parties. Boral’s Cradle to Cradle clay tile also applies as a LEED for Homes Environmentally Preferred Product and can be used to garner an Innovation and Design LEED point.

Boral’s clay tile solution is the industry’s only clay roofing product to be certified by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) as Cradle to Cradle. Cradle to Cradle aims to eliminate the concept of waste by creating safe material flows that return biological and technical nutrients back to nature and industry at the end of a product's use. The Cradle to Cradle Certified program is a rigorous product evaluation that measures progress towards this vision and assesses products for human & environmental safety, design for future life cycles, and sustainable manufacturing processes.

Under the newly released USGBC LEED Pilot Credit 43, Boral’s clay tile solution may qualify as a Type 1 Environmental Certified Product. A building project can apply for this pilot credit in any LEED rating system if 10 percent of the total value of all non-structural materials and products are approved as Type 1 Environmental Certified Products. The added point is designed to establish a more comprehensive and transparent view of sustainability in buildings while recognizing and rewarding the lifecycles of environmentally-sound building materials and further promoting their use.

“Boral has long believed in the value of this Cradle to Cradle clay tile certification,” said James Hill, Boral Roofing sales manager and LEED AP. “We are thrilled that builders and architects are now able to apply this roofing to reap additional benefits under the U.S. Green Building Council LEED program.”

The USGBC added Pilot Credit 43 as a new incentive for product manufacturers to obtain third-party certification of their environmental claims. The pilot credit rewards the use of products and materials with life cycles, ingredients, and attributes that improve overall environmental, economic and social performance. The credit is meant to apply to third party certifications and labels, providing a more comprehensive perspective of sustainability.

“Better buildings start with better building products,” said Jay Bolus, vice president of technical operations, at McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC). “We are pleased that that the Cradle to Cradle Certified^CM program has been recognized by USGBC for its rigorous evaluation of building products. When selecting materials, it’s important to know that the LEED process rewards the use of C2C products.

For more information, visit www.BoralNA.com.