{"id":1256,"date":"2013-12-30T11:22:38","date_gmt":"2013-12-30T16:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecooptimism.com\/?p=1256"},"modified":"2013-12-30T11:22:38","modified_gmt":"2013-12-30T16:22:38","slug":"my-2013-word-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecooptimism.com\/?p=1256","title":{"rendered":"My 2013 Word of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"transparency<\/a><\/p>\n

When I posted around this time last year that the word of the year, at least according to me, was resilience<\/a>, I wasn\u2019t sure whether I\u2019d make the word of the year a continuing event. I mean, who needs yet another commitment?<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, I\u2019m going to use my mini bully-free pulpit and anoint a 2013 word of the year. Here it comes.<\/p>\n

Transparency<\/p>\n

The word\u2019s been tossed around a lot for a while now, most commonly in regard to government and making information and processes available. What makes it new and timely for us is its application to the businesses and manufacturers that make and sell the materials, chemicals and products that so heavily impact our lives.<\/p>\n

For years, our ability to select products that are safe in terms of environmental and human health has been hobbled by businesses\u2019 claims to proprietary information. Frequently, if you wanted to know, for example, what chemicals were used in a paint, that information was unavailable because it was considered a trade secret in the same way that the formula for Coca Cola is kept under lock and key.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not about to learn exactly what\u2019s in Coca Cola (or Pepsi, if you prefer). Nor are we going to find out the exact make up of every material and finish in our buildings. But the advent of two types of product information labels, Environmental Product Declarations<\/a> (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations<\/a> (HPDs), may change the information and transparency landscape dramatically.<\/p>\n

EPDs and their more recent complement, HPDs, are often compared to food nutrition labels. They aren\u2019t the type of green labels we’re used to in that they don\u2019t tell you whether the product meets a green standard such as Energy Star. Rather they tell you what\u2019s in the product and how much of it there is. Equipped with this information, which has been verified by a third party, the idea is that you can come to your own conclusions.<\/p>\n

\"First<\/a>

First page of a fictional Health Product Declaration<\/p><\/div>\n

Another newcomer in the product and material transparency movement is the Living Building Challenges\u2019 Declare label<\/a>. With the introduction of another transparency label, the risk arises that the number of labels could start to get confusing and off putting, as has happened with the world of green labels. It\u2019s good news, therefore, that Declare and HPD have formed a partnership<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"LBC<\/a><\/p>\n

The transparency movement dovetails with another concept, one that I wish I could label the word (or phrase, to be more precise) of the year: the precautionary principle. I\u2019ve discussed this concept previously<\/a>. Basically, the precautionary principle states that an action or policy or, more relevantly here, a product or material must be proven safe before use or implementation. This principle applies elsewhere in the world, but not in the US.<\/p>\n

While information transparency, as provided by EPDs and HPDs, doesn\u2019t directly invoke the precautionary principle, it does enable wider availability of information such as Red Lists<\/a> so that we can exercise our own precautions.<\/p>\n

Can there be too much transparency? One potential issue is information overload. How many people really make use of nutrition labels on foods? Who has the time or the inclination? But it doesn\u2019t matter that many folks won\u2019t take the step of diving into these labels. The fact that they exist and are getting notice is proving to be an incentive for companies to pay attention, to open a window onto their products\u2019 make up as well as altering those products and, in short, to\u00a0 \u201ccome clean.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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