June 1st, 2009
From Green Right Now Reports
Underwriters Laboratories, whose UL symbol has long been a stamp of approval indicating product safety, has validated its first green product. Serious Materials’ new drywall product EcoRock is the first product to be validated by UL Environment since it launched in January.
UL Environment is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northbrook, Ill.-based UL, the 115-year-old company known for its product safety testing services. UL Environment will offer Environmental Claims Validation, a service testing and verifying manufacturers’ self-declared environmental claims, and Sustainable Products Certification, a service testing and certifying products to accepted industry standards for environmental sustainability.
The new rating company said it validated Serious Materials’ environmental claims for EcoRock by performing a series of assessments and laboratory tests. An audit was conducted for recycled content; environmental chamber tests were performed to determine volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions; energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence tests were performed to determine mercury content; and microbial resistance tests were performed to determine the product’s resistance to mold. The UL Environment audit found that EcoRock is 80% recycled content, has low VOC emissions (meets CA 01350), and is mercury free and highly resistant to mold.
“As sustainable products become more available, third-party validation of claims by credible organizations like UL Environment will be crucial to eliminating exaggerated green marketing claims,” Steve Wenc, President of UL Environment Inc., said in a statement. “UL Environment applies solid science and more than a century of testing expertise to protect consumers from vague, false or misleading environmental claims.”
Serious Materials, a leading manufacturer of energy-saving building materials, completely re-engineered the manufacturing and ingredients of its drywall with the introduction of EcoRock, an alternative to gypsum drywall. EcoRock can be used in place of standard gypsum drywall, but requires 80 percent less energy in its core production. Its manufacturing process eliminates heaters, dryers, calcining, and the burning of fossil fuels. Serious Materials says that using EcoRock instead of gypsum drywall would eliminate up to 20 billion pounds of CO2 emissions per year in North America.
“Specifying UL rated and certified products has long been the industry standard requirement for our customers,” Kevin Surace, CEO Serious Materials, said in a statement. “Green building mandates continue to be required by government policy and industry leading brands who understand the critical environmental and economic impact of the built environment.”
UL Environment said it will apply a rigorous, independent testing process to the testing of environmental claims and allow manufacturers that successfully pass the tests to apply the UL Environment service logo on product packaging and marketing materials.
