The Pharos Project is a project of the Healthy Building Network. HBN is:

In Vermont:
Melissa Coffin, Bill Walsh

In California:
Tom Lent

In Washington, DC:
Larry Kilroy, Sarah Gilberg, Sarah Pickell, Susan Sabella

In Maine:
Jim Vallette

TRANSPARENCY, KEEPING IT REAL

The science fiction writer Phillip K. Dick said, “the basic tool for manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words.” This observation seems increasingly relevant as the corporate communications engine begins to rev up its use of the word “transparency” as a core value of all things “green” and “sustainable.”

Before transparency goes the way of “green” and loses its connection to reality and begins to cloud rather than illuminate the green building landscape, it seems necessary to establish a basic definition of the term as we apply it in the Pharos Project.

For our own part, the Pharos Project is not a “black box” certification system or a manufacturer-funded green label. All of the metrics and product data we use to evaluate building materials are completely transparent in our system for the user to view. Sources are provided for all data and the rationale behind our scoring is explained in detail in the system.

For manufacturers, Pharos defines transparency as a product manufacturer answering three basic questions about their product: What’s in it? How was it made? Where did it come from?

That may seem simple enough, but in an era of proprietary polymers, confidential business information and greenwash, it is often too high a bar for many manufacturers to reach. Still, the Pharos Project exists for those product manufacturers who are willing to supply such information and for those designers and specifiers who demand it. Ultimately, real progress towards reversing many of the most challenging environmental issues of our generation will depend upon all of us meeting that standard of transparency rather than redefining the term.

Paul Bogart is the director of the Pharos Project and the programs director of the Healthy Building Network.

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