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LEED® stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. There is a lot of information on the U.S. Green Building Councils website. You may want to start out by taking some LEED® workshops. A good place to start is by finding your local USGBC chapter on the national organizations website. If you do not find a workshop listed, contact the local chapter. If you do not have a local chapter, contact the national organization. There are literally volumes of general information in a section of the National USGBC website dedicated to LEED® including where to find workshops, online courses etc. and how to get accredited. They even provide a resources page.

Not at all. These are images of a room that is completely "Green". It was designed for an American Lung Association Showhouse. Below the images are a list of the things that make this room "Green"

Example of a sustainable interior
Example of a green interior
  • Area Rug above is 100 percent wool with use of natural dyes
  • Upholstery is exclusively solid wood construction
  • Cornices are made with formaldehyde free plywood
  • All Adhesives used are non-toxic
  • Draperies are made from natural fibers and blinds are solid wood
  • Wood flooring is from certified forestry
  • Large window expanse offers natural daylight for energy efficiency
  • Window film reduces glare and offers thermal comfort and energy efficiency
  • All artificial lighting is individually controlled with dimmers for energy efficiency
  • Upholstery backed library builtins used for acoustics
  • Natural ventilation is achieved with doors and windows that open to the outside
  • Recycled furnishings from antique and consignment shops are used for conservation
  • New furniture from show room floor samples used to minimize off-gassing
  • Low VOC (Volitile Organic Compound), non-solvent, and non-toxic adhesives and finishes are used throughout the design
  • Indoor plants used for natural air purification
VOC stands for "Volatile Organic Compound", which refers to chemicals that turn into a vapor and "off-gas" into the air. Common VOCs include the vapors given off by paints and varnishes, petroleum products like kerosene and gasoline, pesticides, glues, cleaning products, building products, and furnishings. Some VOCs, such as formaldehyde, are known to cause serious health problems. Many are simply annoying or irritating. Whether something is actually harmful or is merely annoying depends on several factors, including how much of the substance there is, how long it continues to off-gas into the air you're breathing, what other substances are in the air which may mix with it, and how sensitive your immune system is to that particular substance or combination.
Most paint manufacturers have a low VOC line of products including Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams and many others.

Be aware that due to U.S. EPA paint labeling regulations, some toxic ingredients found in conventional, low-VOC, and no-VOC paint may not be listed on the paint container. An MSDS sheet should be consulted for a complete list of all the paint ingredients. It should also be noted that latex paint is not made with latex rubber, and thus it does not pose a threat to those with latex allergies. "Latex" is just a name used to describe rubber-based paint. Latex paint is made with polyvinyl material with acrylic resin, not natural rubber latex.

Georgia Pacific makes a product called "DensArmor Plus® Paperless Drywall". It is a highly mold-resistant interior gypsum panel. DensArmor Plus mold-resistant drywall carries a three-month in-place exposure warranty.

Be aware that due to U.S. EPA paint labeling regulations, some toxic ingredients found in conventional, low-VOC, and no-VOC paint may not be listed on the paint container. An MSDS sheet should be consulted for a complete list of all the paint ingredients. It should also be noted that latex paint is not made with latex rubber, and thus it does not pose a threat to those with latex allergies. "Latex" is just a name used to describe rubber-based paint. Latex paint is made with polyvinyl material with acrylic resin, not natural rubber latex.

Termimesh™ is a unique physical termite barrier using a simple concept of woven stainless mesh to stop termites entering homes through concealed entry points. It must be installed during construction of new buildings.

By using the Termimesh System you projects can earn mutilple LEED® points under the Green Building Rating System.

It is up to you to determine if this product complies with local building codes.

That's a good question. There are too few cabinet makers today providing environmentally friendly choices for cabinetry. As designers, we have the ability to change the availibilty of this and other sustainable products by asking our sales representatives if they currently have or are planning to have environmentally responsible alternatives to their products. If enough people ask for these products, the manufacturers will start to listen. If you have any information on "Green" cabinetry that you would like to share with the rest of us, please contact me.

That being said, I always recommend that any casegoods that are made from wood meets the approval of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). The FSC is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests. FSC sets high standards that ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable way.

For example, Harden Furniture has achieved certification for both company-managed timber harvesting activities, as well as our procurement and land management systems through the nationally acclaimed Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI ) program.

Go to www.fscus.org for more information on this topic.

Recycling is a concept that has become recently become more popular. Our current model of manufacturing is based on a Cradle-to-Grave methodology whereby the ultimate products of our industrial system are the wastes that end up in landfills around the country. In a Cradle-to-Cradle approach, each product has ultimate disposal as part of the engineering and design methodology. This "upcycling" ensures that the recyclable parts of the product are continuously recycled thus minimizing and, in some cases, eliminating waste.
With today's compliance issues, as well as our elevated awareness of environmental issues, disposal of old flooring isn't as simple as ripping it up and throwing it in a dumpster. That's why StarNet® Member Companies offer complete, flooring recycling and reclamation services as an integral part of the complete flooring project process.
The emission of gaseous pollutants. For example, the plastic odor from vinyl binders is an off gassing of chemicals.

All chemically processed materials produce some level of off gassing. Many products should be off gassed if possible before installation or at least after installation. Carpeting is a good example of something that should absolutely be off gassed. Often your carpet installer can provide this service for you. They can unroll the carpet in a well ventilated area for 48 hours prior to installtion. If this isn't an available option than certainly provide as much ventilation as possible to the outside for at least 48 hours after installation. Open windows and use proper air filtering systems.

No, LEED® applies to green building projects. Individual products can contribute to points under the rating system; LEED® criteria are performance-based. In attempting to meet these requirements, LEED® practitioners identify products that have desired attributes. However, some LEED® criteria do require specific product data as a part of a successful submittal.