Energy efficiency and renewable energy sources began before the 1970s, but it was the oil prices increase during that period that spurred the movement. The green building field formalized in the late 1980s and 1990s when several organizations developed committees, including the American Institute of Architects (AIA) who formed the Committee on the Environment.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) green building “is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction.”
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, better known as LEED, was introduced in 2000 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) offering a new certification program for building design, construction, operations, and maintenance. There are several levels of LEED and when LEED v4 was released, it added new credits for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and material ingredients. Similar to nutritional labels that can be found on food items, only instead of the impact of the food to your body’s wellbeing, it provides the environmental impact of the building material or product.
According to Wikipedia, the definition of an EPD is an “in life cycle assessment, an EPD is a standardized way of quantifying the environmental impact of a product or system. Declarations include information on the environmental impact of raw material acquisition, energy use, and efficiency, content of materials and chemical substances, emissions to air, soil, and water and waste generation. Product and company information is also included.”
At Hager Companies, we’re concerned about how our company and products affect the environment. We have more than 170 years of experience in the door hardware industry and a longstanding tradition of environmental awareness. Many of the materials we use in the production of products are made of both pre- and post-consumer materials, helping projects earn LEED® points.
We continue to take steps to minimize our footprint throughout the production process and product lifecycle. These steps include reducing transportation through consolidation manufacturing and distribution, implementing scrap metal and corrugated product recycling efforts, emphasizing recycled content and working together with local communities to provide a clean environment.
The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) disclosure through Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) is a key element of our environmental impact reduction strategy. LCA allows us to better understand the true burden of our products and EPDs allow us to share our results with our customers. As such, we are proud to share our sixteen recently released EPDs covering several of our product lines. On each product webpage covered under the EPDs there will be an icon, similar to UL, WH, BHMA, or ADA, declaring the product to be EPD certified.
Hager Companies will continue to invest in quality products produced in an environmentally conscious manner ensuring the protection of our earth’s resources for many generations to come.
