Green Certification Guide

Third Party Indoor-Air Quality & Sustainability Certification Guide

CA 01350 — Emissions test standards developed by the state of California that is used as the basis for some of the indoor-air quality certifications listed in this glossary. Specification 01350 defines testing procedures and sets limits for 38 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that are known to off-gas from products.

CARB Compliant, Phase 1 and Phase 2. Note: While many are still using the CARB name, it has been replaced by the U.S. E.P.A. with a new nationwide standard known as TSCA Title VI.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) implemented standards to improve indoor air quality by tightening limits for formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products. Before January 2009, 0.20 parts per million were allowed.

Phase 1: Starting in January 2009, the CARB formaldehyde standard was lowered to and average 0.18 parts per million, depending on the type of composite wood product.

Phase 2: In 2012, the CARB formaldehyde standard was lowered again.

The US EPA has adopted the same standards, in TSCA Title VI, and implementation has been in phases for the past several years. Most recently, in March 2024, the rules went into effect for cabinetry.

Note: CARB rules did not set limits for finished products such as  laminate or engineered flooring. Rather, it set many different limits for different types of composite wood products as follows:
Hardwood plywood 0.05 parts per million (ppm)
Particleboard 0.09 ppm
Medium-density fiberboard 0.11 ppm
Thin medium-density fiberboard 0.13 ppm

TSCA Title VI sets limits for finished products. Read more here: https://www.epa.gov/formaldehyde.

Other designations for formaldehyde:

E1 — The European standard for formaldehyde emissions that went into effect in 2004, with a limit of 0.14 parts per million.

E0 — This standard means that a product contains no added formaldehyde and ensures that emissions do not exceed 0.07 parts per million.

NAUF — Means No Added Urea Formaldehyde

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Declare (Red List Free) –Declare labels disclose added ingredients in a product. Red List Free means the product is free of chemicals known to be of hazard to health and the environment. The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) created the list in 2006,

CertiPur-US — Created by the polyurethane industry for polyurethane foam. The limit is 0.5 ppm (500 ug/m3) total VOCs. Level is too high for most chemically sensitive people. In addition, there is uncertainty over how long foam continues to off gas.

The certification originally was to indicate that foam was made without PBDE flame retardants, even when they already had been banned. They then added TDCPP, TDBPP, TEPA and TCEP. Most of these have been removed from foam and are banned in some states.

While they also say they are made without formaldehyde, they set the allowable limit for a final foam product at 100 ug/m3. Read more at https://certipur.us .

Cradle-to-Cradle Certification

Administered by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, this is a third-party, multi-attribute certification that assesses a product’s people and planet-friendliness and its design for future life cycles. Materials and manufacturing practices are evaluated in five categories:  material health, material reutilization, renewable energy use, water stewardship and social responsibility.

There are four levels of Cradle to Cradle product certification: Basic, Silver, Gold, And Platinum. To be certified at any  certain level, the product must meet the minimum requirements for that level in all five criteria categories.

CRI Green Label Plus — developed by the trade organization, the Carpet & Rug Institute. They test for 35 compounds listed under the California Department of Health’s Section 1350.

See their levels of certification at http://www.carpet-rug.org/carpet-cushion-and-adhesive.html.

Virtually any carpet will meet their standards. Before choosing a carpet, seek the manufacturer’s product disclosure document, or Health Product Declaration (HPD), and find out if they are still using or have phased PFAS out of their entire production process. This question goes beyond the scope of the Carpet & Rug Institute’s CRI Green Label Plus indoor-air quality certification, which most U.S. carpet suppliers have.

Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) Certification — This is a third-party, multi-attribute certification that assesses effects on people and the planet.

Products with EPP certification have a reduced negative effect on human health and the environment  in comparison to competing products or services that serve the same purpose. This comparison applies to raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, use, reuse, operation, maintenance and end-of-life disposal.

Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) — A third-party verified that discloses product life cycle and environmental impact documentation.

FloorScore — Has three tiers of certification; 0.5 mg/m3 or less, 0.5 mg/m3 to 5 mg/m3 or 5mg and up. Levels appear on actual certificates. There is no upper limit for total VOCs. They go by the 35 Volatile Organic Compounds specified by the California Standard Method for VOC Emissions Testing and Evaluation. They do not test for semi-VOC plasticizers like phthalates, metals, acids or biocides.

FloorScore was originally developed by the Resilient Flooring Institute, a trade organization, but it SCS Global Services administers this certification. Read more at www.scsglobalservices.com

Forest Stewardship Council Certification (FSC)

Considered the most reliable indicator of sustainably harvested wood, FSC remains the only certification to qualify a wood product for credit under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system.

Superior provisions of FSC include balanced representation in governance that means extra power is not given to those with a purely economic interest in the outcome of a decision. FSC also prohibits the use of hazardous pesticides otherwise widely used and EPA approved – coupled with requirements that protect rivers and other water bodies from erosion and chemical runoff — protect biodiversity in addition to our water supply and human health. Clear-cutting, harvesting old trees and converting natural forests for development sites or tree farms also are prohibited or heavily restricted under FSC.

Certification is offered to companies that demonstrate they can conform to FSC standards in the sourcing, manufacturing, storing, labeling and invoicing of FSC certified material.  The material or products can carry a  range of claims, including FSC pure, FSC Mix Credit and FSC Mix Percentage.

GOTS Certified — This certification identifies fabrics that are organic and only chemically processed in a manner the certifiers see as safe. Read more at: 

https://global-standard.org/the-standard

GOLS Certified — Sets qualifications for natural latex, requiring a product to be made of more than 95 percent certified organic raw natural latex. It sets limits for harmful substances with low limits for VOCs including formaldehyde, and it prohibits some flame retardants, dyes and polyurethane foam. Read more at: https://www.controlunion.com/certification-program/gols-global-organic-latex-standard/

GREENGUARD — Indoor-air quality certification that sets product off-gassing limits. It allows up to 500 ug/m3 total VOCs

GREENGUARD Gold — More stringent than GREENGUARD, it allows 220 ug/m3 total VOCs, and tests for other potential hazards, such as phthalates, plasticizers linked to delayed development in young children.

Developed by the GREENGUARD Institute. Read more at: http://greenguard.org

Green Seal — A third-party indoor-air quality certification from a long-time verifier. Green Seal, in March 2025, prohibited PFAS in its certified products, including paint, adhesives, floor-care products and degreasers. Read more at: 

https://greenseal.org/standards/

Green Squared Certification — an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard that has gone into use for tile manufacturers.

Though concern about tile emitting chemicals has traditionally been low because of natural materials used and high firing temperatures that would burn off organics present in clay or binders, Green Squared has indoor-air quality in addition to sustainability requirements that include a full life-cycle and materials assessment.

Chemical emissions have to be tested by a third-party certifier – such as Scientific Certification Systems or the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute — and proven to comply with one of three standards, which include  California Specification 01350.

Health Product Declaration (HPD) — A verified report that allows manufacturers to be transparent about their ingredients while maintaining critical trade secrets. 

NSF/ANSI 140 Carpet — NSF 140 is a multi-attribute sustainability standard for carpet that is lifecycle-based and includes end of life management. Certification is based on point totals to achieve a Silver, Gold or Platinum level.

This is considered a foremost standard to attest to a carpet’s sustainability. The U.S. General Services Administration  now requires all broadloom and carpet tile purchased by the U.S. Government to be certified to NSF International’s Sustainable Carpet Standard (NSF/ANSI 140) gold level.

NSF/ASNI 332 –  A multi-attribute sustainability assessment for resilient flooring that is lifecycle-based and includes end-of-life management. Certification is based on point totals to achieve a Silver, Gold or Platinum level.

NWFA Responsible Procurement Program (RPP) — This certification was developed by the National Wood Flooring Association in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC); Scientific Certification Systems – a third-party certifier; and the Rainforest Alliance Trees U.S. Program.

It is designed to enable and measure a wood flooring manufacturer’s  ability to produce products that come only from sustainable and socially responsible sources. It also follows a company’s commitment to transitioning to the most stringent levels of environmental responsibility as developed by FSC.

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Certified — This certification sets limits/levels for chemicals allowed in fabric, with the most stringent standard being set for baby clothes. Read more at: 

https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/our-standards/oeko-tex-standard-100

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC) —Based in Geneva, Switzerland, PEFC  is an independent, non-profit organization that promotes sustainable forests through third-party certification. PEFC International bases its criteria on internationally accepted intergovernmental conventions and guidelines, Pan-European Criteria, Indicators and Operational Level Guidelines for Sustainable Forest Management ; and ATO/ITTO Principles, criteria  for the sustainable forest management of African natural tropical forests.

SMaRT Certification — Sustainable Materials Rating Technology or SMaRT, is a multi-attribute sustainability certification recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system.

All product life stages are assessed for planet friendliness, in addition to the reduction of more than 1,300 pollutants covering 12 potential environmental impacts. There are four levels of achievement possible, from  Sustainable to Sustainable Platinum. The certification is overseen by MTS, an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited standards developer. Auditing is conducted by Ernst & Young Global Sustainability. ©

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