Continuing Education

WBDG07 Defining, Evaluating, and Selecting Green Products

Course: WBDG07
Duration: 1.5 hour
Learning Units: 1.5 LU
Prerequisites: None
HSW: Yes

Environmentally-preferable products (EPPs), as defined by the federal government in Executive Order 13101, are those that have "a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared to competing products that serve the same purpose." The growing popularity of green buildings and green building programs (particularly the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED® rating system) is expanding both the demand for, and availability of, green products. For designers and specifiers, these changes are providing greater opportunities to improve the environmental performance of many building products. At the same time, assessing the health and environmental impacts of materials is a complex process, which can be further confused by varying (and sometimes contradicting) claims from product manufacturers. Fortunately, an expanding set of green product resources and tools exists to assist project teams in making appropriate, informed evaluations and selections. This course will provide an introduction to the criteria for evaluating and selecting green products as well as guidance on how green product content is defined.

Learning Objectives

By completing this course you will learn and be able to:

• Understand at least two of the health and/or environmental attributes of green products.
• Summarize terminology that has developed in the field of green products.
• Apply the steps in the process of evaluating and selecting green products.
• Describe the facility design and development process for federal projects that support a comprehensive, integrated perspective on environmentally preferable products.
• Identify the terms used for recycled products, low-emitting materials, and bio-based content.

Instructions

1. Read the required WBDG pages.
   All course materials are contained within the pages found in the Whole Building Design Guide. You are not required to utilize any of the links or additional resources while taking this course. There is no time limit for reading the materials. However, you are encouraged to continue learning beyond the course requirements at your leisure and convenience.
   
   Please read the following pages in their entirety.
   • Evaluating and Selecting Green Products
   • Use Environmentally Preferable Products
   • Executive Order 13423: Technical Guidance for Implementing the Five Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings
     • Low-Emitting Materials
     • Recycled Content
     • Biobased Content
   • Federal Green Construction Guide for Specifiers—You are only required to read the "Welcome and Guide Objectives" for the purpose of this course. However, you are encouraged to explore the entire Guide Spec at your leisure.
   To move from page to page within each course, click on the links located in the upper right hand corner in the gray WBDG Continuing Education box located on each required page. Within the WBDG Continuing Education section, navigate using the links on the page or the breadcrumb links located at the top of each page.
2. Take the Test.
   Upon completion of the test and a passing grade of 80% or more, you will receive a certificate of completion and your learning units will be processed with the AIA. Other professionals must submit their certificate of completion to their professional organization for credit.
3. Complete and Submit the Evaluation Form and Affidavit.
   To receive your certificate of completion or learning units, you must complete and submit the evaluation form and affidavit.

Good luck!       Proceed to test-->