Soon there will be a million different ways to paint the color green, as Green Seal has announced the launch of a LEED-compliant certification for paints and coatings that fully aligns with the latest standards.
Products that adhere to the updated standard will be considered compliant by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for the LEED v4 and v4.1 low emitting materials credit. This means that all qualifying products are safer for people and the planet compared to similar products while still providing comparable or heightened performance.
The updated GS-11 Standard for Paints, Coatings, Stains and Sealers is also compliant with WELL v.1 and Fitwel standards, according to Facility Cleaning & Maintenance.
The Green Seal Difference
What makes Green Seal’s certification unique is that it the only mark in the marketplace to automatically qualify products for LEED credits and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly badge.
“Green Seal’s paint standard has rewarded leading manufacturers for low-VOC content, safer formulas, and effective functional performance since it was first issued nearly 30 years ago,” said Doug Gatlin, CEO of Green Seal. “With our latest standard update, purchasers, facility managers, and consumers can confidently choose paints that fully align with LEED v4.1 green building certification and are verified to the highest standard of health, safety, and functional performance.”
Unlike single-attribute certifications that focus solely on VOC emissions, Green Seal’s standard also restrict the following:
- Carcinogens
- Reproductive toxins
- Hazardous air pollutants
- Preservatives that emit formaldehyde
- Heavy metals
- Alkylphenol ethoxylates, and a host of other harmful chemicals.
In addition, Green Seal also ensures that certified products use environmentally preferable packaging. Just from 2020 alone, paints and coatings certified to Green Seal standards prevented more than half a million pounds of VOC pollution throughout at least 120 million square feet of LEED-certified building space.
“Green Seal’s updated paint certification raises the bar for protecting indoor environmental quality and offers a simple and effective path for complying with our most health-protective requirements in LEED,” added Melissa Baker, SVP, LEED Technical Development, USGBC.
