We make it easy to find
the products you need to
meet LEED submittal
requirements.
Materials for Green and LEED Certified Buildings
While LEED does not certify green building products, BuildSite Green Data helps designers and builders by extracting product-specific LEED attributes such as VOC content, recycled material content and manufacturing location. These values have been entered into our searchable, sortable technical database, helping our customers achieve LEED submittal requirements.
BuildSite Green Data relies on the data our manufacturers provide to help you make educated decisions about what products will meet your project goals. Green product certifications and guidelines point users to the right product for the job.
Icons highlight certifications and other green building product attributes:
Download our Green Data product snapshot and learn how to build green with BuildSite Green Data.
The Roots of Green Data
Green building materials have been a part of BuildSite’s database since its inception. But not long ago, one of our distributor subscribers called to ask a very specific question about building green. He was working on a school in Ashland, Ohio. He asked, why did he need to comply with Southern California Air Quality guidelines? And, what green building materials met the spec?
This, and many other conversations, convinced us we needed to take our green building materials offering to the next level. We had, for some time, provided green spec data, such as VOC and recycled material content, on selected products through BuildSite Advertising. But, because we believe building green is a core element of construction, we decided to integrate green building material information with the BuildSite database itself.
LEED compliance requires more than saying a product is green – you need credit specific data to support your certification. And, because the LEED submittal process is separate from standard product submittals, we found that contractors, designers, and LEED consultants would not only benefit from the data, but they could also use simple online submittal templates tied to the LEED credit requirements.
See how you can find green building materials with BuildSite Green Data.
Answers to Common Questions
- How does BuildSite obtain green data?
- How often is your website and Green Data updated?
- How do you update your database?
- How can I be sure a product meets LEED requirements?
- What do your different Green Data icons mean?
- I am a manufacturer who is interested in having my products listed on BuildSite. How do I make modifications and updates to my products?
- Some certifications have to be renewed annually. Are we checking to make sure all manufacturers are up-to-date?
- Does BuildSite certify green products?
How does BuildSite obtain green data?
BuildSite obtains all product information directly from the manufacturer. In most cases, a contact from each manufacturer works directly with a member of our team to input green data values into our database. In other cases, we comb through manufacturer product data sheets and MSDS to find the LEED attributes we need. In either case, we include a date of most recent update, when available, for each product.
How often is your website and Green Data updated?
Each manufacturer in the BuildSite database is updated at least once every year. Often updates are made quarterly or semi-annually. Occasionally the most recent update for a product’s Green Data will be several years old; this is because manufacturer’s most recently published product data sheet is several years old.
How do you update your database?
The BuildSite database is kept up-to-date in two ways. The first way is that we take updates directly from manufactures. When updates are not available directly, we spider manufacturer websites for new content and replace outdated documents on our website.
How can I be sure a product meets LEED requirements?
BuildSite Green Data does not guarantee that any of the products in our database can achieve LEED credits. We recommend that users always double-check our information with the manufacturer before submitting to LEED Online. However, the information we publish comes directly from manufacturers, and can be used as a general guide to selecting green products.
What do your different Green Data icons mean?
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Meets California Department of Public Health Standard Practice for the Testing of Volatile Organic Emissions From Various Sources Using Small-Scale Environmental Chambers |
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Certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Green Label Plus program |
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ENERGY STAR |
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Floorscore certified |
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Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified |
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GREENGUARD certified |
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GREENGUARD for Children and Schools certified |
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Meets Green Seal standard |
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South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) compliant |
I am a manufacturer who is interested in having my products listed on BuildSite. How do I make modifications and updates to my products?
At BuildSite, we are always happy to update manufacturer listings. Therefore, we will work with you to keep your information current. One way to keep us up-to-date is by emailing changes to update@buildsite.com. Another way to keep us in the loop is by connecting us directly with a webmaster or technical contact in your organization who we can contact to obtain periodic updates.
Some certifications have to be renewed annually. Does BuildSite check to make sure all manufacturers are current with their certifications?
BuildSite provides you with the most recent time of update. When in doubt, always consult directly with a manufacturer to get the most recent information on certifications.
Does BuildSite certify green products?
BuildSite does not certify products as green. In fact, some of the products in our database are not green. Our goal is to provide you with as much green data as possible and to enable you to make educated decisions about what products meet your project goals.
