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NAHB Advises FTC on Accuracy of ‘Green' Product Claims
NAHB has advised the Federal Trade Commission that it should emphasize consistency, credible standards and appropriate consumer education to ensure that manufacturers are making accurate claims about their “green” products.
The agency invited representatives from NAHB, the Green Building Initiative, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Energy Star program to give recommendations during a green building and textiles workshop at the FTC headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Third-party certification through the NAHB National Green Building Program keeps the focus on a rigorous technical assessment of home performance and benefits, and results in credible statements about what the consumer can expect, said panelist Carlos Martín, NAHB assistant staff vice president for construction, codes and standards.
For instance, basic engineering principles should guarantee that properly executed green design and construction will increase a home’s energy efficiency, but an energy-efficient home does not guarantee a lower utility bill, he said, because it cannot account for utility rates, home owner behaviors and long-term maintenance.
“NAHB Green is careful about making the leap from specific green practices and certifications to performance and benefits without accounting for the building science and realities of home use,” he said. “As much as we’d like to promote green building in general and NAHB Green in particular, we need to ensure that consumers are receiving accurate and appropriate information.”
He said that more research and verification are needed to ensure that green claims are grounded in good building science. “This ranges from individual products and materials in green homes, to the performance of green homes themselves, and to the economic and other home occupant benefits that this performance may generate,” Martín said.
Sam Raskin, national director of the Energy Star for Homes program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, echoed Martin’s comments. To earn the Energy Star, a home must be built to be at least 15% more energy-efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code.
“Once you get past energy efficiency, what’s the metric? There is no code reference” for most green program rating systems, Raskin said.
Unlike some green building programs, NAHB Green rating systems reference Energy Star as a way to meet minimum thresholds in the energy efficiency section of the total score.
NAHB also offers resources and guidance to builders who have questions about green claims, Martin said.
“Our legal staff regularly advises home builders and home building associations across the country about risk and liability issues, and that includes questions about both the homes they build and the claims they make about those homes,” he said.
The association’s legal staff held a teleconference on green liability for its builder members last month, and at various NAHB conferences and events it has conducted seminars on home owner warranties and marketing representations.
The NAHB Building Product Issues Committee also works on liability-related issues for home builders and remodelers, while striving to contain rising building supply costs that threaten the affordability of new homes.
For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.
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