The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) has introduced GreenFormat, a Web-based database of green product information, that aims to make it easier for facility managers to evaluate green product information.
GreenFormat is a new CSI format that provides a standardized framework for identifying the sustainable properties of building products. The free, Web-based search offers is intended to offer an, unbiased approach to evaluating green product information.
Like all CSI's standards and formats, GreenFormat is organized by MasterFormat divisions. Its downloadable results are spec-friendly.
The requirements of the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System? are among the standards referenced within GreenFormat's search to help searchers achieve their green project goals.
"CSI received overwhelmingly positive feedback on GreenFormat during GreenBuild," says CSI Executive Director and CEO Walter Marlowe, P.E., CSI, CAE. "Designers can use GreenFormat to sift through the green information flooding the construction industry quickly and easily."
CSI is offering manufacturers a free one-year subscription of product listings on GreenFormat for a limited time.
To enter products into the database, building product manufacturers complete an online questionnaire that collects sustainable information about their products. Sustainability claims are verified by relating questions to compliance with standards and certifications. Information is then displayed in a standardized manner; product listings are organized by MasterFormat divisions in a spec-friendly layout. The format's categories focus on topics that are important to design and product selection decisions.
"We developed GreenFormat to address the need for consistently and concisely structured information about product sustainability, to help those searching for the right product," says Roger Grant, CSI Director Technical Services and Development. "As we strive to refine the database and its functionality we ask for comments and feedback from the industry."
