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

GREENBUILD, GREENWASH AND PHAROS

If anyone doubted the need for a tool that cuts through the fog of labels, manufacturer claims and private certification schemes that dominate the building materials market, a short stroll through the aisles of the GreenBuild exhibition hall would erase that.

Perhaps it was the aftershock of a trip though the Greenbuild exhibition hall that prompted Al Gore to exhort Greenbuild attendees this way at Chase Field on Wednesday night: "I urge the green building movement to pay attention to keeping the environmental standards high, and when you find greenwashing going on, speak out against it. Don't put up with that because they undercut the legitimate folks who are here, who are doing the right thing."

Al is right. The trouble is, it's not always that easy. Greenwashing is by definition clever, sophisticated and disingenuous, making it difficult to distinguish from legitimate green marketing. The other limitation is that individual voices rarely break through the din of Greenwash. We know from experience how difficult this can be.

Pharos will accomplish more than just making it easier for our subscribers to find materials that reflect their values; it will also amplify their individual voices into a chorus call for transparency and market transformation.

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

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