Whether you’re perusing the latest edition of an architectural magazine or viewing an online green building blog, the word disclosure is certain to catch your eye. With the release of the latest version of the LEED Green Building Rating System (LEED v4), disclosure has taken center stage as the next big topic in the ongoing discussion of how green building is defined. And sharing the stage with disclosure are new tools such as EPDs and HPDs that have emerged to help measure the “greenness” of building products. In order to understand disclosure’s eventual impact on building design and practice, it is important to start with a review of how the concept developed and how it is related to other important green building concepts.
Many different stakeholders within the building community have been active in the promotion of disclosure, but they all tend to share the same questions. A particular building material may help save operating energy, but how does it impact other equally important environmental concerns? A product may have a high recycled content, but after the effort required to salvage, transport and convert the material, is there still a tangible net environmental benefit? Beyond specific environmental concerns, how does the product affect the safety, health and wellbeing of building occupants? Unfortunately, many of these questions cannot be answered effectively using current tools such as energy calculators and one-dimensional green product certifications.