In Summary - Key Tips for Project Team Success – Above Green

HPDs are relatively new to the green building market, and awareness is growing quickly. Here are a few tips:

Start early – it might take many months to obtain HPDs from specific manufacturers. Pre-qualify potential manufacturers and products.
Make sure the whole project team is committed to the disclosure effort. Schedule frequent meetings to keep track of changes in the project that could affect product specification and to make sure no issues have arisen in obtaining specific products.
Ensure that at least one project team member thoroughly understands the purpose, uses, and limitations of various tools, and can communicate that information to the team when needed.
When opening a dialogue with manufacturers about disclosed hazards in their product(s) – first thank them for disclosing contents; be positive – support and acknowledge their efforts to improve. Listen to their perspectives – why it might be difficult to eliminate a material or substance and to find an alternative immediately. And inquire about what they are doing to move forward. The manufacturers will be motivated to continue their efforts towards reporting, disclosure, and transparency when they hear requests and appreciation from multiple customers.

When Possible – Encourage Disclosure and Transparency

HPDs provide information on health aspects of products, which is only one piece of the complex puzzle of product specification and selection. Other information must also be considered, including environmental factors, legal considerations, and the factors that project teams have long considered such as cost, aesthetics, durability, availability, and so forth.

If you are a reader of this Guide, you have embarked on the learning process around the use of greater levels of disclosure and transparency concerning the health-related information of the products we select. It is challenging to balance all the factors that you must consider. You will likely face complicated choices, including between products with an HPD that discloses one or more hazards – and products that have not disclosed hazard information. What steps can you take in this situation, to help determine how to use the presence/absence of an HPD in your product evaluation?

If a project team goal is to reward disclosure and transparency, the manufacturer that provides an HPD is supporting this goal. The company may have a program within its product development process to improve the health characteristics of its products. Engage in a dialogue and learn more about the health information that has been voluntarily provided by the manufacturer. Discuss the manufacturer’s product improvement program, and efforts it is making to reduce or eliminate hazards from its products. Use the HPD as a springboard to learn more. Let the company know that its commitment to disclosure and transparency – and whatever efforts beyond that it has taken – is appreciated.
The product whose manufacturer has not disclosed whether hazardous contents are included or not has not given you the information necessary to assess anything about the health attributes of its product. Use this as an opportunity to ask for this information – an HPD is the easiest and most widely-accepted method available to the manufacturer to fulfill this need. Let the company know that you have a preference for disclosure and transparency. Encourage it to take this first step, and then continue to make improving the health characteristics of its products a priority.

Project teams can have a powerful impact on the development of healthier building products. By supporting disclosure and transparency in your projects, you are joining with hundreds of others to establish health as a priority in the built environment.