The standard on which the Green Squared^® certification program is based, ANSI A138.1, is divided into five sections, the first of which was reviewed in our last blog entry. The second section, Environmental Product Manufacturing and Raw Material Extraction, standardizes sustainable production practices.

Mandatory for conformance to the standard, buildings containing process equipment shall not allow visible particulate matter (PM) emissions. Additionally, there are four standardized PM pollution control levels based on grain size, the first of which is mandatory and other three of which are elective.

It is mandatory that the only types of fuels used are natural gas, LP gas, landfill generated methane, or bio-based fuel. The usage of landfill generated methane or bio-based fuel can earn elective credits. Elective credits can also be achieved through the use of low nitrogen oxide (NOx) burners and acid gas controls.

Mandatory for conformance to ANSI A138.1, the manufacturer must have a written sustainable procurement policy for raw material suppliers. Additionally, the manufacturer is expected to maintain a list of all materials used to manufacture their product. Where lead or cadmium is used, manufacturers are required to provide evidence that finished products meet specified lead and cadmium leachability limits.

To obtain an elective credit, the manufacturer may choose to enter into a sustainability buying agreement with the majority of its raw material suppliers. For other outsourced services, such as packaging or additional manufacturing services, manufacturers are expected to require that their service providers have written sustainability policies.

Manufacturers are required to have an environmental management plan which addresses waste minimization, lighting efficiency, heating fuel usage, electricity consumption, and water conservation. Elective options for manufacturers include meeting certain water discharge limits, utilizing renewable energy, cogeneration, incorporating heat recovery or combined heat and power systems, conducting ASHRAE audits, or registering their environmental plan per ISO 14001.

As elective options for conformance to A138.1, several innovative criteria for waste diversion are established. These include the incorporation of waste into other manufacturers’ products or beneficial reuse projects, donation of finished products to charitable organizations in lieu of disposal, recycling or reuse of incoming shipping materials.

Next time, we will review the criteria of the next section of ANSI A138.1, End of Product Life Management.