Why Pharos?
Over the last decade, a great deal of discussion and debate has ensued over what makes a building material “green.” Increasingly owners and designers alike are seeking assurance that the materials they use in their buildings are good for our health and good for the environment.
The building materials industry has responded with a plethora of new products, new marketing claims and a myriad of green rating systems. With no consensus or clarity on what constitutes a truly green material, it is no easy task to weigh the marketing claims for competing new products, nor to know the value of these rating systems.
How does one decide between a product that has a high-recycled content and one that is made of virgin materials but claims to be non-toxic and healthy? And who do you trust in a field where most of the information and rating systems come from the industry selling the products?
While architects or designers specifying products may be aware of environmental attributes, they are often unprepared to weigh legitimate product-specific information and competitive priorities of a product in order to make the best choices for clients. Lacking knowledge or information about the relative importance of environmental impacts and a product’s ultimate performance, users are challenged to make sound specification decisions on the appropriateness of one material, product or technology over another.
The Pharos Project aims to put the control back in the hands of the consumers – the owners and the design and construction communities – mapping a 360° view of green material attributes and putting those claims in context and testing them against verifiable data and user community consensus of ideal goals. |
