UL GREENGUARD Certification for Building Materials

Because we spend about 90%¹ of our lives indoors, the air quality in our homes, offices, schools and other indoor environments can significantly impact our health, well-being and productivity. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) commonly found in building materials — including paint, flooring and insulation materials — greatly contribute to indoor air pollution levels.

Improving indoor air quality (IAQ) can reduce respiratory disease, allergies, asthma, and sick building syndrome and even boost work performance. Considering these clear benefits of reducing indoor pollutants, building codes and ordinances, as well as green building programs around the world, require building materials to meet criteria for low VOC emissions. Companies that do not comply with codes and ordinances risk facing fines and brand damage, but a lack of clear information about how to meet requirements often prevents companies from moving forward to compliance.

¹ Source: EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

UL GREENGUARD Certification

Showcase your commitment to healthier indoor environments

UL GREENGUARD Certification, offered only by UL Solutions, empowers building materials manufacturers to showcase their commitment to improving IAQ with products that meet criteria for low chemical emissions. Achieving UL GREENGUARD Certification can help differentiate your products from competitors, making them preferable to architects, specifiers and other key targets within the building industry.

A clear path to compliance

Our certification program has established test methods and emission limits for a variety of building materials, including paint, flooring and insulation materials. The certification process includes:

• Extensive review of raw materials and manufacturing processes.
• Testing for more than 10,000 chemicals in highly equipped laboratories around the world.
• Superior customer support, featuring:
  • Technical support.
  • Dedicated project managers.
  • Subject matter expertise to help solve emissions issues.
  • Global laboratory and inspector networks.
• Product certification to UL GREENGUARD, which are based on emissions criteria from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), State of California and other reputable health agencies.

Choose from two tiers of certification, UL GREENGUARD Certification and UL GREENGUARD Gold Certification, which includes health-based criteria for additional chemicals and requires lower total VOC emissions levels required in environments such as schools and healthcare facilities.

Earn credits in established green building programs

UL GREENGUARD Certification criteria have served as the basis for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credit for low-emitting furniture since 2002.

In addition to LEED, UL GREENGUARD Certification can help you earn credits in other established green building rating systems, including Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM), Fitwel and others.

Learn more about UL GREENGUARD Certification

Contact us to discuss your company’s specific needs and learn more about showcasing your commitment to healthier indoor environments with UL GREENGUARD Certification.