The majority of everyday chemical exposure in people occurs through the air we breathe in our homes, offices, schools and other indoor environments. These airborne chemicals are commonly referred to as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and are used to manufacture and maintain building materials, interior furnishing, cleaning products and personal care products. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and various researchers have conducted studies that reveal two key findings:
- VOCs are common in indoor environments.
- Their levels indoors may be between two and 1,000 times higher than outdoors.
There may be anywhere from 50 to hundreds of individual VOCs circulating through indoor air at any time. Some may produce objectionable odors if the concentration of VOCs is at low levels, but many have no noticeable smell. Many VOCs are irritants and can cause headaches; eye, nose and throat irritation; and dizziness. Long-term exposure to certain VOCs may lead to chronic diseases including cancer. The products used to build and furnish our indoor environments can have a significant impact on indoor air pollution levels.
Our UL GREENGUARD Certification program has established test methods and emission limits for a variety of product groups, including:
Vehicles
Furniture
Flooring
Building materials
Electronic equipment
Interiors
Cleaning products
You can choose from two tiers of certification: UL GREENGUARD Certification and UL GREENGUARD Gold Certification.
Standard UL GREENGUARD Certification
The EPA and the state of Washington initially used UL GREENGUARD Certification emissions limits as purchasing specifications for furniture and commercial building products. UL GREENGUARD Certification criteria have served as the basis for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credit for low-emitting furniture since 2002. Office furniture products that are UL GREENGUARD Certified also comply with the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association (BIFMA) X7.1 standard.
UL GREENGUARD Gold Certification
The UL GREENGUARD Gold Certification Standard includes health-based criteria for additional chemicals and requires lower total VOC emissions levels to ensure that products are acceptable for use in environments such as schools and healthcare facilities. In addition to limiting emissions of more than 360 VOCs and total chemical emissions, UL GREENGUARD Gold Certified products must also comply with the requirements of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Standard Method for the Testing and Evaluation of Volatile Organic Chemical Emissions from Indoor Sources Using Environmental Chambers, also known as California Section 01350.
All certified products are subject to a review of the manufacturing process and routine testing to demonstrate minimal impact on the indoor environment in the long period.