December 3, 2018
As the demand for healthier, smarter and more environmentally friendly buildings increases globally, so too does the demand for building materials, furniture and other related products that go in to those buildings. There is also new focus on protecting human health and well-being. Some feel it’s one of the critical safety challenges of the 21st century, but it comes with its own challenges. In many countries, simply finding products that have reduced negative impacts on human health can be extremely difficult. Often, it is hard to know if the sustainability and health related claims of a product are even accurate, not to mention the difficulty in finding out if that product is available is a specific country.
To make matters worse, there is a lot of confusion and misinformation on what constitutes a sustainable product and where to find information on that product. The sustainability world is full of software tools that act as data aggregators, companies that scrape and grab and accept as much data as possible without any concern that the associated environmental and health claims of that product are actually accurate or even impactful. These aggregators often focus on generating user traffic, rather than the accuracy of product data.
UL is working to solve this problem. Using our 125 years of history of being a trusted source for credible information on the safety impacts of products, we are working to make UL SPOT (https://spot.ul.com/) the most credible global resource to find products that have reduced impacts on human health and the environment. With over 100,000 product families on SPOT, it is the largest global database for credible green products— but SPOT is about more than just numbers. It is about impacts. It is about knowing that that a product found on SPOT has been evaluated to science-based standards for sustainability or health impacts. It is about trust, credibility, driving change, and positively impacting lives. And the numbers show that his strategy is working, SPOT is used in 152 countries, with roughly 25,000 visitors per month. Those 25,000 people globally represent thousands, if not millions, of lives that their purchasing and design decisions impact. Additionally, UL is partnering with global certification programs such as the Taiwan Architecture & Building Council, CTC in China, EPD Italy and others to provide more access to products globally.
As this movement continues to grow, the demand for credible green product will continue to grow. To find products that are certified for sustainable attributes and health impacts, visit ul.com/spot.