HEALTH PRODUCT DECLARATION COLLABORATIVE RELEASES UPDATED HPD OPEN STANDARD VERSION 2.0

Revised Membership and Technical Committee structures advance transparent disclosure of building product contents and open innovation toward healthier materials

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WAKEFIELD, MASS – Sep 14, 2015 – The Health Product Declaration (HPD) Collaborative today released a major update of its HPD Open Standard – Version 2.0. The new version is the result of the collaborative efforts of hundreds of participants from all aspects of the building industry. These individuals represent a wide range of large and small firms in the architecture, design, engineering and construction fields, a wide spectrum of manufacturers of building products and components, and organizations focused on developing tools, information and advocacy for increased transparency and disclosure around building product ingredients and associated health information.

Key to the new release are two main objectives: 1) Increase usability by both users and creators of Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and 2) Harmonize the HPD Open Standard specification with other standards and certifications used in the building industry that also relate to the reporting of product ingredients and health information.

“With Version 2.0 we are now ready to take on the more complex issues of disclosure and supply chain structure, which will greatly improve the usability of the HPD,” said Amanda Kaminsky, Sustainable Construction Manager for The Durst Organization and Chair of the HPD Collaborative. “Members of our Technical Committee, Manufacturers Advisory Panel, HPDC Staff and many others have invested thousands of hours of work to incorporate the learning that has taken place over the past two years.”

Harmonization enables the HPD Open Standard to serve the data entry requirements of a number of other standards and certifications. This benefits both users and creators of product disclosures by helping to reduce redundant and overlapping data creation. A Harmonization Task Group was created in 2013 to advance this objective under a grant given to the U.S. Green Building Council by Google Inc. The harmonization work will now move to an implementation phase, and will be supported on an ongoing basis through the HPDC Technical Committee Harmonization Sub Group. The HPD Open Standard is accepted as documentation for materials credits in LEED^® v4, the WELL Building Standard^®, and other green building rating systems.

Stacy Glass, Vice President, Built Environment, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, commented: “On the path to optimized products, the first step is a thorough understanding of substances present in a material. The harmonization of the inventory portion through HPD 2.0 establishes a foundation that any manufacturer can use to get on the path to material health. From there, they can proceed to chemical assessments and optimization strategies that will ultimately lead to products that are safer and healthier. Harmonization ensures best practices, creates ease of use, and saves time and money for manufacturers.”

New Technical Committee and Member Organization Structures

The HPD Collaborative also announced the introduction of new structures and processes for its Member Organization and the ongoing evolution of the HPD Open Standard, led by the HPDC Technical Committee. “After several years of early learning with the HPD Open Standard, our Board has determined that broadening and deepening member engagement is our top priority,” said Wendy Vittori, HPDC Executive Director. “We have developed a revised Member Organization structure and also will be extending membership in our Technical Committee and Technical Sub Groups to include manufacturers as direct participants.”

“During Version 2.0 development, members of the Manufacturers Advisory Panel (MAP) made substantive contributions of time, talent and technical expertise through formal and ad hoc working groups. Past MAP Co-Chair and current HPDC Board member Aaron Smith of ASSA ABLOY envisioned an inclusive ecosystem of materials makers and users working together on complex assembly and supply chain issues. Full manufacturer integration with the Technical Committee is an ideal alignment with the HPDC’s Guiding Principles that will increase knowledge sharing and technical rigor,” said Dwayne Fuhlhage, Sustainability and Environment Director, PROSOCO, a Co-Chair of the MAP.

The HPD 2.0 Builder, the premier tool for the creation of HPDs, is being fully upgraded to support Version 2.0 of the Standard. The HPDC also offers manufacturers and 3^rd party preparers the option of a fully offline, fillable form version of the HPD Open Standard Format. The fillable form is available now, and the HPD 2.0 Builder is planned to be available in the 4^th quarter, 2015.

Support materials, including the HPD Open Standard 2.0 (Format and Instructions), Introduction to the HPD Open Standard webinar, What’s New in Version 2.0 webinar, and FAQs, are available to the public on the HPDC website. Information about HPDC Membership is also available on the HPDC website.

Wendy Vittori and Amanda Kaminsky will be providing an overview presentation on the HPD Open Standard 2.0 and the HPD Collaborative at the Living Product 2015 Expo, being held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, PA, September 16-18. The HPD session is being presented on September 17, 6:00-6:30pm in Room 326.

For more information, visit: http://sched.co/49Ib

“The constructive industry-wide conversation about material ingredients is more interesting every day and the release of HPD 2.0 comes at just the right time. Many manufacturers have told us that they have been waiting for this launch to go public with their transparency initiative. This is the much-anticipated next step toward an open dialog about health and materials,” commented Rus Perry, Vice President and Co-Director of Sustainability, SmithGroupJJR, a founding board member of the HPD Collaborative.

About the Health Product Declaration Collaborative

The Health Product Declaration Collaborative is a customer-led, member organization committed to the continuous improvement of the building industry’s environmental and health performance through transparency and innovation. The HPD Collaborative created, supports and advances the HPD Open Standard, a format that enables transparent disclosure of building product content and associated health information.

The HPD Open Standard is freely available to all at www.hpd-collaborative.org

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Media Contact
Company Name: Health Product Declaration Collaborative
Contact Person: Donovan Hardenbrook
Email: dhardenbrook@hpd-collaborative.org
Country: United States
Website: http://www.hpd-collaborative.org

ReleaseID: 512843

Source: GetNews