BuildingGreen, the publisher of the well-respected GreenSpec Directory and Environmental Building News newsletter, today announced their seventh annual list of its top 10 green building products for 2008.
BuildingGreen's Top 10 for 2008
Of the products on this year’s list, half have been deemed green because they are made from natural or rapidly renewable materials or agricultural waste. Such products, the Brattleboro, Vt.-based group says, require significantly less energy to manufacture.
“Our selections of the Top 10 Green Building Products represent a wide range of product types in many different application areas,” says BuildingGreen president Alex Wilson.
Announced Nov. 20 at the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild Conference in Boston, the Top 10 Green Products list has become a yearly ritual in which the Vermont publisher recognizes the most exciting products drawn from the more than 200 products added to its GreenSpec Directory in the last year.
An appearance on BuildingGreen's list is seen by many in the industry as a significant event, as the company's endorsement signals that a product is legitimately sustainable. “New products seem to be appearing all the time, making it a challenge for our staff to keep up,” Wilson says.
This year’s list includes the very first Forest Stewardship Council-certified and formaldehyde-free bamboo flooring, doors made with wheat-straw particleboard, a transparent finish produced from a byproduct of cheese making, and a compressed-earth masonry block. Three of the remaining products save energy, including a low-cost, solar water-heating system; a combination heating, water heating, and heat-recovery ventilation system; and a system for monitoring real-time energy (and water) use in buildings.
Last year’s list included LED downlights from LED Light Fixtures, Alpen fiberglass windows from Alpen Energy Group, Cube3 Ultra urinal from Caroma, and Bosch Evolution 800 Series dishwasher.
Nigel Maynard is senior editor, products, at BUILDER magazine.