Materials and Resources

Question 1

Chain of custody

Answer 1

A number issued by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) assigned to each order of certified wood purchased

Question 2

Cradle to cradle

Answer 2

A term applied to a product if a new use can be applied to it after the end of its first useful life, diverting it from a landfill

Question 3

Cradle to Cradle Certified (C2C)

Answer 3

A product certification program requiring product ingredients to be disclosed to an independent, accredited C2C assessor. C2C rewards achievement in five categories.

Question 4

Cradle to gate

Answer 4

A term describing the system boundaries of an environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA) that covers all activities from the beginning of its production up to the factory gate

Question 5

Cradle to grave

Answer 5

A term applied to a product if its lifetime is limited to one application or use, ending in a landfill

Question 6

Deconstruction

Answer 6

The systematic disassembly of building structures to salvage materials for reuse

Question 7

Disclosure

Answer 7

The revealing of product or material information to a person or group for the use of making informed decisions

Question 8

Environmental product declaration (EPD)

Answer 8

A standardized, internationally recognized, comprehensive tool for providing information on a product’s environmental impact, based on an ISO-compliant life-cycle assessment (LCA)

Question 9

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

Answer 9

A third-party certification body that certifies wood that is cut from a sustainably managed forest

Question 10

GreenScreen

Answer 10

A hazard assessment method that evaluates individual chemicals. Chemicals are assigned to one of four main categories. Benchmark 1 is for chemical substances known to be associated with certain health problems and are of the highest concern, while Benchmark 4 is for chemicals with the lowest level of concern.

Question 11

Health Product Declaration (HPD)

Answer 11

An open standard for reporting product ingredients and their associated health hazards

Question 12

Life-cycle approach

Answer 12

A method of looking at a project from the perspective of its entire life-cycle and not just its useful application by assessing supply-chains, efficiency, pay-back, environmental impact and recyclability

Question 13

Life-cycle assessment (LCA)

Answer 13

An assessment of the environmental impacts associated with a material or product throughout its life cycle

Question 14

Life-cycle costing (LCC)

Answer 14

An analytic tool used to determine the most cost-effective option among competing alternatives based on the costs of the options throughout their life cycles

Question 15

Materials reuse

Answer 15

The reuse of materials whose lifetime has been extended to be used in the same purpose for which they were designed

Question 16

Optimization

Answer 16

The selecting of a product or material based on its superior performance related to specific goal(s)

Question 17

Postconsumer recycled content

Answer 17

Material that has experienced a useful life and has been recycled by a consumer, such as paper, aluminum and plastic

Question 18

Pre-consumer recycled content

Answer 18

Material from manufacturing waste, such as sawdust, agricultural by-products, over-runs and other scrap material, that can be created into a new product

Question 19

Rapidly renewable materials

Answer 19

Fiber or animal-based material that can be grown, harvested and manufactured in under ten years or less

Question 20

Recycled content

Answer 20

The percentage of material in a product that has been recycled form the waste stream, either pre-consumer or post-consumer, and is used to make new materials

Question 21

Regional material

Answer 21

Material that is extracted, manufactured and purchased within 100 miles of a project site

Question 22

Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)

Answer 22

EU legislation that requires all chemicals sold in quantity in EU countries to be registered in a central database and prioritized for evaluation and possible avoidance based on their hazard profile. REACH is an alternative compliance path for international projects.

Question 23

Salvaged material

Answer 23

Building elements such as beams, roofing, flooring, brick and cabinetry that are salvaged from existing buildings

Question 24

Sustainable forestry

Answer 24

The practice of managing forest resources to meet the long-term product needs of humans while maintaining the biodiversity of forested landscapes

Question 25

Waste diversion

Answer 25

The amount of waste diverted from the landfill, expressed in tons