Commercial Architecture September 2016 - 9

healthcare FEATURE H ealthcare facilities are perhaps the most not necessarily similar documents. EPDs are usually complex commercial facilities that exist. third-party certified. UL Environment is one of the Not only are there myriad code require- largest third-party certifiers in the U.S., although there ments, but most organizations have high sustainabil- are others. HPDs, on the other hand, can be third-par- ity aspirations as well. LEED certification, in partic- ty certified or self declared. ular, is often a goal, and LEED credits can now be Healthcare customers may not automatically ask earned by selecting products with environmental for EPDs, but they will frequently receive RFPs (re- product declarations (EPDs). There are other credit quest for proposal) that ask for the type of informa- options for products where no PCR (product category tion that would be contained in an EPD. That infor- rules) exist. mation might include questions on material health, Healthcare facilities concerned with health risks manufacturing plant efficiencies, the company's com- related to environmental factors will also want to look mitments regarding carbon-footprint issues, and so at healthcare product declarations (HPDs) when mak- on, Martel explained. ing product-specification decisions. "An EPD is really about the environmental impact STILL WORK TO DO of a product, whereas an HPD revolves more around Today's tools regarding the environmental and health ingredients and hazards attached to the ingredients," documents are relatively new, evolving, and can some- explained Diane Martel, vice president, Environmen- times be confusing and intimidating to those not tal Planning and Strategy with Tarkett, Solon, OH. familiar with them. "We are at the infancy of these "An EPD will have a list of ingredients, including recycled materials, but it generally will not give you tools, and there will be a lot of work to do about what is meaningful," she stated. any kind of indication of how the content relates to "It will probably take years to get a tool that is sig- health concerns. There are a couple of EPDs that do nificant and easy to read. We have people in the archi- touch on toxicology, but the modeling is so unreliable that it is meaningless," she said. EPDs talk about life-cycle assessment-cradle to Acronyms In Brief grave, although another philosophy is to look at a product's life cycle in cradle-to-cradle terms. Nevertheless, environmental impact, including greenhouse gases and carbon footprint, is the purpose of an EPD, Martel explained. EPDs and HPDs, despite their similar names, are EPDs, LCAs, PCRs, HPDs: the list of acronyms goes on and on. The first three are interdependent. Here's a rundown. * Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs): EPDs disclose the impact of a product throughout its life cycle. They follow the International Organization of Standards (ISO) guidelines and are used globally. * Life cycle assessment (LCA): The LCA is integral to EPDs. It accounts for a product's environmental impact from raw material extraction to transportation, manufacturing, use, and disposal at end of life. * Product Category Rules (PCR): You can't have an LCA without a PCR. PCRs are the methodology manufacturers in a given category must follow when creating an LCA and an EPD. * Health Product Declaration (HPD): HPDs disclose building-product ingredients and related Above. Leo A Daly worked with Children's Hospital and Medical Center, Omaha, to renovate and improve the neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU). Photo: Matt DeBoer Opposite Page. Healthcare facilities must comply with myriad codes and regulations, and many have additional sustainable and green goals. Shown is USACE-Kansas City District, Irwin Army Community Hospital replacement facility. Photo: Leo A Daly hazards. The Health Product Declaration Collaborative is responsible for their creation, and they are used primarily in North America. commercialarchitecturemagazine.com SEPTEMBER 2016 COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE 9 http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture September 2016