Christine Dong for METROPOLIS

Breakout: The Materials Library 

Set Your Goals for Product Specification 

Define Your Product Criteria 

Adopt a simple good-better-best system to categorize products in your library or on your Master Spec list, with products that have EPDs and GWP numbers equal or lower than baseline for their category receiving the most preferred categorization. 

Organize the Materials Library 

Isolate all choices available in your materials library, by making sure every product that is in the library meets baseline criteria. 

Brief Specifiers 

Emphasize the new product criteria— recycled content, recyclability, refurbished or reused products—with your entire design team and with existing vendors, before orders get placed. 

Communicate Clearly to Internal and External Stakeholders 

Use resources that simply and clearly compare different products within each division to talk to both project teams and clients about low-carbon options. EC3 provides comparisons within nine materials categories: concrete, steel, wood, glass, aluminum, insulation, gypsum, carpet, and ceiling tiles. 

Track Your Choices on Projects 

After projects are completed, record how your specification choices adhered to the criteria you set. 


If you have feedback on the Climate Toolkit for Interior Design, write to: [email protected]