“Tile products are durable, inert and intended to last as long as the buildings in which they are installed. Tile and related installation materials are engineered to serve as permanent finishes capable of outliving several generations of building occupants,” writes Bill Griese of TCNA as he describes the importance of a standard which can be used to assess the sustainability of tile and installation materials in today’s ‘green’ building environment.
In light of tile’s long life-cycle and the increasing movement toward industry-wide sustainability criteria, the Tile Council of North America has announced the establishment of Green Squared SM, the world’s first consensus-based sustainability standard and certification program developed exclusively for tiles and tile installation materials.
“With the recent approval of ANSI A138.1, the standard upon which the Green Squared certification program is based, our industry now has a means by which to define and certify the environmental and social sustainability attributes of tiles and related installation materials,” remarked Griese, TCNA standards development and Green Initiative manager.
ANSI A138.1 is a multi-attribute sustainability standard which was written by an ANSI Accredited Standards Committee, ASC A108, representing ‘green’ building stakeholders, tile consumers, manufacturers, distributors, installers, and many other relevant interests. Encompassing ceramic tiles, glass tiles, setting materials, grouts, backer boards and membranes, this standard allows the tile industry to offer installed systems of conforming sustainable products – the first offering of its kind by any building material industry.
developed the Green Squared program as a way for tiles and related installation materials to be certified as meeting ANSI A138.1. Products evaluated by an independent, third-party certification agency and verified to meet ANSI A138.1 will appear in the marketplace beginning in April 2012. These products will bear a single, easily recognizable Green Squared Certified mark that will give architects, specifiers, and consumers the confidence that these products are truly sustainable.(Neuse Tile’s Nyle Wadford serves on the ANSI ASC A108 committee which approved this exciting new standard for the industry.)
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