| Air Quality Standards | The level of pollutants prescribed by regulations that are not to be exceeded during a given time in a defined area. |
| ASHRAE | American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers |
| ASTM E1333 | Carb “Gold” Standard Test Method – One of 2 types of formaldehyde emissions testing performed on unfinished panel samples by HPVA. (Large chamber) standard test method. |
| ASTM D5582 | One of 2 types of formaldehyde emissions testing performed on unfinished panel samples by HPVA. (desiccator) is an approved small scale quality assurance test method for correlation to the large chamber test. This test is conducted in jars. |
| ATCM (Airborne Toxic Control Measure) | CARB approved the ATCM on formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products for unfinished panels including hardwood plywood – veneer core (HWPW-VC). |
| Baked-Out | A process used to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from a building by elevating the temperature in the fully furnished and ventilated building prior to human occupancy. |
| Biodegradable | Capable of decomposing under natural conditions. |
| CA 01350 | Special Environmental Requirements standard specification developed by the State of California to cover key environmental performance issues related to the selection and handling of building materials. It represents a significant step forward in specification to evaluate and reduce the impact of building materials on indoor air quality and health in buildings and could become a major driving force for better products and healthier buildings as its use spreads. |
| CAGBC | The Canadian Green Building Council is the leading national organization advancing green building practices for livable communities. This is the Canadian counterpart to the USGBC. |
| CARB | Acronym for the California Air Resource Board. |
| Certified Wood | Usually refers to FSC (Forrest Stewardship Council) Certified Wood. A means of notifying consumers that a wood or paper product comes from forests managed in accordance with strict environmental and social standards. |
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Chain-of-Custody (CoC) | Tracks FSC certified material through the production process – from the forest to the consumer, including all successive stages of processing, transformation, manufacturing and distribution. |
| Conversation | Preserving and renewing, when possible, human and natural resources. The use, protections and improvement of natural resources according to principles that will ensure their highest economic or social benefits. |
| Energy Efficient | Products and systems that use less energy to perform as well or better than standard products. |
| Energy Star Rating | The designation given by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy to appliances and products that exceed federal energy efficiency standards. This label helps consumers identify products that will save energy and money. |
| Environmental Impact | Study of all the factors which a land development or construction project would have on the environment in the area. |
| EPA | United States Environmental Protection Agency. An agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. |
| FGBC |
Nonprofit Florida Corporation dedicated to improving the built environment. Standards: Green Home Green Development Green High rise Green Local Government for cities and Counties Green Commercial Buildings |
| FloorScore Certified | The FloorScore program was developed by Scientific Certification Systems, a nationally recognized third-party certification company, and the Resilient Floor Covering Institute. Under this program, hard surface flooring products are tested and certified for compliance with California’s Section 01350 for low VOC emissions, the most stringent high-performance IAQ requirement in the nation. Certified and compliant with LEED® credit EQ4.3 Low-Emitting Materials. |
| Formaldehyde | A naturally occurring VOC found in trace amounts in animals and plants and commonly added (in much larger quantities) in composite building materials. Urea-formaldehyde is carcinogenic and an irritant to most people when present in high concentrations – causing headaches, dizziness, mental impairments, and other symptoms. |
| FSC – Forest Stewardship Council | Chain of custody Certification process for wood. Sets environmental, economic and social standards to be met by forest companies. Accredits independent 3rd party organizations who certify forest managers and forest product producers to FSC Standards |
| Grams per Liter (g/L) | Measurement for VOC content in liquids (i.e. adhesives, cleaners, polishes) |
| Green Building | Design and construction practices that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and occupants. |
| Green Building Rating System | A national standard for developing high performance buildings. Developed by the members of USGBC. |
| GreenGuard Indoor Air Quality Certified | Developed by the AQS testing agency. Product certification program for low emitting interior building materials, furnishings and finish systems. All Greenguard Certified products have been tested for their chemical emissions performance and can be found in the Greenguard online product guide. |
| Green Select | CCA’s environmental initiative which includes all product categories. The product must currently be recyclable, contain a minimum of recycled material and/or be made from a natural, sustainable, quickly renewable resource. Cork and Bamboo are the first of CCA’s products to be marked “Green Select”. |
| Greenwashing | Merging the concepts of “green” (environmentally sound) and “whitewashing” (to conceal or gloss over wrongdoing). Greenwashing is in any form of marketing or public relations that links a corporate, political, religious or nonprofit organization to a positive association with environmental issues for an unsustainable product, service, or practice. |
| HPVA (Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association) | TPC (Third Party Certifier) for domestic engineered wood flooring plants. |
| HWPW (Hardwood Plywood) | AHF manufactures and sells engineered wood flooring constructed from hardwood plywood. |
| Indigenous Materials | Materials having originated in and being produced, growing, living, or occurring naturally in a particular region or environment |
| ISO 14001 Certified | Specifies the actual requirements for an environmental management system. It applies to those environmental aspects which the organization has control and over which it can be expected to have an influence. |
| ISO 9001 Certified | Ensures optimal plant efficiency minimizing scrap and energy use. |
| LEED | Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Buildings are certified by LEED Accredited Professionals. Rating system is in U.S. and Canada. |
| Life Cycle Analysis | An evaluation of the environmental effects of a product or activity holistically, by analyzing the entire life cycle of a particular material, process, product, technology, service or activity. |
| High Performance Green Building | Buildings which include features that conserve water and energy; use space, materials and resources efficiently; minimize construction waste; and create healthy indoor environments. |
| Indoor Air Quality | The nature of air inside a space that affects the health and well-being of building occupants. |
| NAF (No-added formaldehyde adhesive) | Resins formulated with no added formaldehyde as part of the resin cross linking structure for making hardwood plywood, particleboard, or medium density fiberboard. |
| NAHB / National Association of Home Builders | NAHB is a trade association that helps promote the policies that make housing a national priority. Since 1942, NAHB has been serving its members, the housing industry, and the public at large. |
| National Green Building Standard (NGBS) | The foremost green rating system for residential construction in the United States,the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard can be used for rating new and remodeled single- and multifamily buildings as well as residential subdivisions. It is the first, established in 2008, and only such residential green rating system to have earned the approval of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). |
| NSF/ ANSI 332 | A standard utilizes a point-based system in which manufacturers may achieve one of three increasingly rigorous levels of certification: conformant, silver, gold, and platinum. The standard includes prerequisite requirements as well as performance requirements and quantifiable metrics in five key areas: Informed Product Design Intelligent Product Manufacturing Long-term Value Progressive Corporate Governance Innovation |
| Non-Renewable | Of or relating to an energy source, such as oil or natural gas, or a natural resource, such as a metallic ore, that is not replaceable after it has been used. |
| Off-gassing | The emission of volatile organic compounds from synthetic and natural products. |
| Post-consumer Recycled Content | Waste material generated by households or by commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product, which can no longer be used for its intended purposes. |
| Post-industrial Recycled Content | Pre-consumer Recycled Content – waste from a manufacturing facility. |
| Pre-consumer Recycled Content (aka post-industrial) | A product composition that contains some percentage of manufacturing waste material that has been reclaimed from a process generating the same or a similar product. |
| Rapidly Renewable Materials | Material considered to be an agricultural product, both fiber and animal, that takes 10 years or less to grow or raise, and to harvest in an ongoing and sustainable fashion. |
| Recyclable % | Recyclable materials, also called “recyclables” or “recyclates”, may originate from a wide range of sources including the home and industry. They include glass, paper, aluminum, asphalt, iron, textiles and plastics. Biodegradable waste, such as food waste or garden waste, is also recyclable with the assistance of microorganisms through composting or anaerobic digestion. |
| Renewable Energy | Alternative energy derived from sources that do not use up natural resources or harm the environment. Examples are solar, hydroelectric and wind energy. |
| Regenerative Design | Sustainable design with the goal of creating built environments that improve on existing conditions. Regenerative Design does more than reducing impacts; it creates positive, restorative change in the local and global environment. |
| Regional Materials | Manufactured and harvest within 500 mi of jobsite. Specify building products and increase demand for products that are manufactured locally, thereby reducing the environmental impacts resulting from their transportation and support the local economy. |
| ReGreen | REGREEN program was created through a partnership between the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Foundation and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). REGREEN was launched in March 2008 with the release of the REGREEN Residential Remodeling Guidelines. The guidelines address the major elements of any green renovation project, including the site of the home, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources, and indoor environmental quality. |
| Reusable | Using a product or component of municipal solid waste in its original form more than once. |
| RFCI (Resilient Floor Covering Institute) | RFCI is leading the way in sustainability with their popular FloorScore® program and the new NSF 332 Sustainability Assessment for Resilient Flooring , a multi-attribute, Life Cycle Assessment based program |
| SCAQMD | South Coast Air Quality Management District – set standard for max VOC content of adhesives. |
| SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) | Leading 3rd party provider of certifications auditing and testing services and standards. Tests and certifies flooring products for compliance with volatile organic chemical emissions standards in accordance with California Section 01350. |
| Sustainable | A resource or system that meets present needs without compromising those of future generations. |
| Sustainable Forest Management | Aims to ensure that the goods and services derived from the forest meet present-day needs while at the same time securing their continued availability and contribution to long-term development. In its broadest sense, forest management encompasses the administrative, legal, technical, economic, social and environmental aspects of the conservation and use of forests. |
| TFF (Tropical Forest Foundation) | TFF is an international, non-profit, educational institution committed to advancing environmental stewardship, economic prosperity, and social responsibility through sustainable forest management (SFM) |
| USGBC | The nation’s foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. |
| VOC – Volatile Organic Compound | Organic compounds that become gaseous at normal temperatures. |