Citing host of "Green Building" initiatives, NPCA calls on companies to join task force
Citing host of "Green Building" initiatives, NPCA calls on companies to join task force
Keywords: Coatings technology, Environmental health and safety
Citing the launch of a growing number of “green building”initiatives that could place a range of new environmental demands on coatings products, NPCA is inviting manufacturers to participate in an industry panel that would present the views of coatings formulators and producers on these programs. NPCA has voiced criticism that the initiatives are being pursued with little or no consideration of industry views on crucial performance and technical issues.
In addition to an EPA draft green- building guide, NPCA is calling attention to green-building programs being developed by EPA, state governments and non-governmental organizations. Included are programs under discussion by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the North American Green Building Coalition (NAGBC); the “Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Database” program of the California Office of Architect; the US Green Building Councils “Green Building Rating System For Commercial Interiors”;and several other programs involving paint and coatings at the federal level and in California and Massachusetts.
The EPA Draft Federal Guide for Green Construction Specifications initiative is described as EPAs “green building initiative for federal buildings”. In the comments submitted recently to EPA on the agencys draft guide, NPCA said it is important that such recommendations “take into consideration industry performance standards, which the current draft guide does not”.
NPCA said the draft EPA guide relies largely on standards and specifications developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), primarily the councils leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) standards, and product standards and certifications developed by the Green Seal organization. NPCA contends this reliance “is inappropriate for government guidelines since neither USGBC or Green Seal are voluntary, consensus-based organizations. Their specifications and standards are not subjected to an industry review process or appeals”.
In the comments submitted to EPA on the draft green-building guide, NPCA also said the USGBC and Green Seal specification programs “inappropriately”include coatings- VOC limits enacted by Californias South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), the most stringent VOC rules on architectural and industrial maintenance coatings in the nation. The limits “clearly are not consensus-based standards”, NPCA said, and were designed to set limits for air-quality goals specific to the situation in the Los Angeles air basin.
NPCA has long opposed the application of SCAQMD VOC limits outside the“relatively benign climate of Southern California”. The association said a major flaw with the extremely low VOC limits required by the SCAQMDs Rule 1113 is reduced coating performance, which can require more frequent repainting that cancels out any environmental benefit provided by the initially lower emissions of VOCs.
In seeking participants in a new industry work group that would submit industry comment and input on these and future green-building initiatives, NPCA cited “the sheer number of ongoing activities” in the green-building arena, and concerns voiced by members of various association committees about the initiatives.
More information about the development of the NPCA work group is available from the NPCAs Web site: www.paint.org, or from NPCA Government Affairs Counsel Alison Keane, E-mail: akeane@paint.org, or Environmental Affairs Director David Darling, E-mail: ddarling@paint.org
