New Database for Building Material Environmental Impact

A new database has been released that standardizes data for building materials and allows the AEC industry and end users to compare and evaluate building materials based on their environmental and human health impacts. The Quartz database, created by a collaboration between companies including Google and the non-profit Healthy Building Network, is vendor agnostic and provides product profiles for 100 commonly used materials such as concrete, drywall, and insulation.

The free, open dataset combines LCA and health hazard information in one location, using consistent, widely accepted methodologies like Pharos Project/GreenScreen hazard screening, TRACI 2.1, and ISO14044. Additionally, the Quartz database is available under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 license, meaning the tool can be modified, used, or redistributed in any way to encourage collaboration and better product selection choices that can drive industry sustainability. The Quartz database is available for free here.