Material Certifications
Environmental certifications are a way for companies to indicate which sustainability or Environmental Protection regulations their products fulfill. They are used to guide you through your selection of building materials, addressing concerns like indoor air quality and carbon footprint. Their thresholds, testing methods and objectives are all different. It is therefore important to compare certifications and their standards to our own sustainability efforts objectives. Here are a few certifications you may often find when looking for sustainable resilient flooring
Current Sustainability Programs and Standards Include:
These are some of the most popular programs and standards recognized in North America.
The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC) are non profit organizations part of the international network of Green Building Council (GBC). These associations share the objectives of promoting and accelerating the creating of a building culture of sustainability, encouraging the comparison between the industry by creating a community of sustainability building and oversee the education and application of environmental projects like the LEED initiative. To learn more: https://www.usgbc.org/
LEED is a certification for buildings and has four rating levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. To achieve a LEED certification, building projects must earn points for specific strategies across various categories. The amount of points they achieve will determine their rating level. LEEDv4.1 is the most recent and comprehensive version of leed and considers environmental, economic, social and community benefits. See how Mondo can contribute to your building’s certification here. To learn more: https://www.usgbc.org/leed
WELL is a building Standard with the mission of being a vehicule for buildings and organizations to deliver more thoughtful and intentional spaces that enhance human health and well-being. WELL v2 is the most recent version of the standard and looks at 108 features and 10 concepts to create a comprehensive approach to buildings and well-being. Buildings can opt to earn points to reach one of four levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum. Mondo can contribute to your building’s certification. To learn more: https://www.wellcertified.com/
BREEAM is a sustainability assessment method concerning project planning, infrastructure and buildings with a focus on asset’s performance through the lifecycle of new and existing constructions. BREEAM works through third party certification to asset each element’s environmental, social and economic sustainability performance with an aim towards more sustainable environments that enhance the well-being and help to protect natural resources. Mondo can contribute to your building’s certification. To learn more: https://www.breeam.com/
Popular Certifications Include:
These are just some of the many product certifications available. To find the one that will fit best with your building’s sustainability goals, consider the testing methods and condistions as well making sure it is recognized by the standard you are pursuing.
Greenguard is an industry-independent certification that ensures that a product has passed some of the most stringent standards for low emission of VOCs in indoor air. It qualifies products for LEED v4, CHPS, Fitwell, BREEAM credits and is recognized by the GBC, the Green Building for Healthcare Council (GGHC) and more. It requires on-going random third-party testing, evaluating more than 10,000 potential chemicals. All Mondo flooring is certified GREENGUARD Gold. To learn more:https://www.ul.com/resources/ul-greenguard-certification-program
Cradle to Cradle Certified® is a globally recognized measure of safer, more sustainable products. From fragrances to flooring, thousands of products are Cradle to Cradle Certified, assessed for their performance across five critical sustainability categories: material health, material reuse, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness. Mondo Harmoni, Kayar, Massetto, Uni, Natura, Dharma, Granito, Lava and Zeus are Cradle to Cradle Certified® Silver. To learn more: https://www.c2ccertified.org/
The Environmental Product Declaration® (EPD) tells the complete story of the production process of a product, including information on its long-term impact on the environment, the reduction of the ozone layer, water pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases. It is a transparent way for manufacturers to show their commitment to measure and reduce the environmental impact of their products. Most Mondo Contract products have an EPD. To learn more: https://www.ul.com/resources/environmental-product-declarations-program
The Health Product Declaration® (HPD) offers a transparent, unbiased framework for manufacturers to provide cost effective reporting of material product content and associated health information. HPDs are recognized by the International Living Future Institute, Cradle-to-Cradle Product Innovation Institute, Clean Production Action, BIFMA, LEED, WELL and other standards in the industry. Most Mondo Contract flooring products have an HPD. To learn more: https://www.hpd-collaborative.org/
CA Section 01350 is not a certification, but rather a test method created by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). It is to be used as a compliance path, each configuration must be tested, and lab report data must be provided. It establishes goals and provides an overview of special environmental requirements. As Mondo flooring is GREENGUARD Gold, it automatically qualifies to the CA Section 01350 standard. To learn more: https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/
greenbuilding/specs
The Red List of building materials contains materials prevalent in the building industry that are polluting the environment, bio accumulating up the food chain until they reach toxic concentrations and/or harming construction and factory workers such as asbestos, bishpenol A (PBA), PVC and more. Mondo Contract products do not currently have the Declare Red List free label, however they are free of any Red Listed chemicals. To learn more: https://living-future.org/declare/declare-about/red-list/
Floorscore is an indoor air quality certification that was developed by SCS Global services and the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI). It is a certification standard for hard surface flooring materials, adhesives, and underlayments. Floorscore tests for the same 35 VOCs specified by the CA Section 01350 testing standard and is recognized by LEED v4, WELL, BREEAM, CHPS and others. As Mondo flooring is GREENGUARD Gold, it automatically qualifies to the CA Section 01350 standard. To learn more: https://www.scsglobalservices.com/.
The ISO 9001 certification aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the quality assurance process and that products are compliant with the applicable requirements. The ISO 14001 certification engages the company in a dynamic and ongoing process which overall is necessary to achieve more ambitious goals in terms of environmental performance. All of Mondo Contract flooring’s current standard line is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified. To learn more: https://www.iso.org/certification.html
