Need help. We’re just starting to go green. What is the difference between Greenguard, Green Seal, & Green Globes? Most products reps don’t seem know.
For a fairly accurate description of each, wikipedia lists all 3.
Green Seal
Green Seal is a global non-profit environmental standard development and certification organization committed to making sustainability everyone’s business. Its flagship program is the certification of products and services. Certification is based on Green Seal standards, which contain performance, health, and sustainability criteria. The Green Seal is an ecolabel used by product manufacturers and services providers. More than 100 federal, state, and local purchasing policies specify and rely on G...
GREENGUARD Environmental Institute
The Greenguard Environmental Institute (corporately styled "GREENGUARD") is an industry-independent organization that aims to protect human health and improve quality of life by enhancing indoor air quality and reducing people’s exposure to chemicals and other pollutants.[citation needed] As an ISO-IEC Guide 65:1996 accredited, third-party certifying body, the Greenguard Environmental Institute certifies products and materials for low chemical emissions and serves as a public resource for choosin...
Both of them are third-party certifier and standards development organizations.
Green Globes
The Green Building Initiative (GBI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that owns and administers the Green Globes green building assessment and certification in the United States and Canada. It was established in 2004 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. GBI acquired the U.S. rights to the Green Globes building assessment and certification program in 2004 and adapted it for the U.S. market as an alternative to the commercial building rating system. The Green Globes certification program w...
This is a rating system similar to LEED, thus a competitor to it, and seems to be more widely adopted in Canada.
William
Green Seal is one of the many standards referenced by LEED in some cases, e.g. paint.
Assuming you will be using LEED, go to www.usgbc.org and get a copy of the reference guide for NC to start with.
You might want to look into “SMART” too, a newer system that also takes into account life cycle issues.
SMART is Sustainable MAterials Rating Technology with it’s own Smart Building Product Standards Scorecard formated similar to LEED with Yes, ?, and No.
SMART evaluates the environmental performance of building products over their life providing a standard for what consitutes a sustainable building product.
Sustainable 28-40 points,