To address the needs of architects and designers seeking more transparency about the impacts of chemicals in products, there are many organizations that are developing tools or services to meet demand. Much of this demand is driven by green building standards and the need for improving the approach of disclosing hazards. Recently, UL-Environment launched its Product Lens™ to compete against other disclosure reports such as Health Product Declaration or Declare, for example. The Product Lens program was designed specifically with LEED v4 in mind and targets the Material Ingredient disclosure credit within the Building Product Design and Optimization grouping. The new chemical disclosure tool is designed to meet marketplace product transparency demands, providing clarity by putting chemical hazards into context.

Also in response to ongoing product disclosure trends, NRMCA launched a guidance document for material ingredient disclosure, developed in part by the RMC Research & Education Foundation. This guidance document evaluated all available tools and disclosure reports at the time and provided recommendations for concrete producers when considering material disclosure.

As a supporting element in the Build with Strength campaign, NRMCA continues to develop resources and tools to support your competitiveness in the green building marketplace and the trends toward product transparency. Some of our other initiatives can found in the industry-wide or company-specific environmental product declarations (EPD) programs and our global collaboration to develop a responsible sourcing program for the industry. Each of these is targeted to drive concrete as a product transparency leader.