Tile Council of North America (TCNA) is pleased to announce the completion of the first draft of ANSI A138.1 North American standard specifications for sustainable ceramic tiles, glass tiles and tile installation materials. Titled Green Squared^®, it will be the world’s first consensus-based sustainability standard written exclusively for tile and installation materials.

TCNA relied on the expertise of its Green Initiative Committee and members of the greater green building community to draft Green Squared. After more than 20 revisions and countless hours of discussion and content development, the group completed a comprehensive document which was recently submitted to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A108 Committee for review.

Green Squared encompasses ceramic tiles, glass tiles, setting materials, grouts, backer boards and membranes. Once approved, it will be the first sustainable building material standard to encompass a full range of products within an industry. “It was important to create a single standard which establishes relevant, achievable goals for these products under a common umbrella of sustainability principles,” noted Bill Griese, TCNA Standards Development and Green Initiative Manager.

In the current Green Squared draft, sustainability criteria are written in accordance with the North American green building industry’s practices, expectations, and leading initiatives. Additionally, sustainability concepts which are unique and important to the tile industry are standardized. Drafting such a comprehensive sustainability standard required a thorough understanding of the manufacturing of the wide range of materials covered, expectations associated with green building standards and rating systems, and other building material industries’ green standardization initiatives.

To address all aspects of modern-day sustainability ranging from nature and the environment to human health and corporate responsibility, the following requirements are included in Green Squared:

• Recycled or reclaimed material content within the product
• Responsible product packaging
• Product compliance with industry product performance standards
• Little to no product emissions
• Established responsible cleaning and maintenance guidelines
• Manufacturer particulate emission specifications
• Manufacturer fuel specifications
• Responsible raw material sourcing
• Manufacturer Environmental Management Plan (EMP), including utility audits, water conservation mechanisms, and waste minimization
• Manufacturer social responsibility strategies
• Corporate compliance with environmental regulations, labor laws, safety regulations, and Federal Trade Commission green marketing regulations

Above and beyond the mandatory criteria in Green Squared, sustainability elective criteria are included to further advance and recognize sustainability initiatives. These electives address a wide range of sustainability issues ranging from post-life product collection to product solar reflectance.

“Green Squared is much-needed by the tile industry,” stated Eric Astrachan, TCNA executive director. “The inherent sustainability benefits of tile are well-known and widely-accepted. However, it is necessary to transform our industry’s inherent strengths into standards and continuously raise the bar to encourage social and environmental innovation.”

As Green Squared is subjected to further discussion within the ANSI A108 Committee, it will be fine-tuned by an even more diverse cross-section of tile industry and green building community stakeholders.

“Those who have participated thus far in this effort have a balanced expertise in our industry’s products and the green building community’s dynamic demands,” commented Mr. Griese. “We are excited to be at the point where Green Squared can be developed through the ANSI consensus process into a nationally-recognized standard. Once approved, we expect the green building community will consider Green Squared a valuable tool and clear standard for assessing the overall sustainability of tile and installation materials in today’s green building world.”