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NSF/ANSI 342: Sustainability Assessment for Wallcovering Products is the foremost standard to evaluate and certify the sustainability of wallcoverings. Manufacturers and distributors earn points for key criteria, and their combined totals certify a product as Conformant, Silver, Gold or Platinum.
As demand for sustainable products increases, the definition of “sustainable” expands as well, encompassing many different interpretations by consumers, industry and government. The NSF Sustainability Standards provide clarity and transparency by establishing uniform technical requirements, methods, processes and practices. They
address sustainability throughout the product life cycle, from manufacture to use and disposal.
Sustainability standards help eliminate greenwashing, lower investment risks in green innovations and encourage the use of truly sustainable products. Sustainability standards are often initiated by industry trade associations, and are sometimes adopted as governmental regulations or product purchasing specifications. Importantly, sustainability standards are not static, but evolve over time to reflect changes in industry knowledge, technology and marketplace expectations. Sustainability standardsare not just informative tools for the marketplace; they can be transformative guides for the industries involved.
By choosing products certified as more sustainable, architects and designers continue pushing the boundaries of sustainability in green building. Specifying certified products can meet client requirements, uphold internal or external standards for sustainable design and builddemand for more sustainable products.
In response to Executive Order (E.O.) 13514, the U.S. Government Services Administration (GSA) is also driving demand for certified sustainable products. A key goal of the E.O. is for 95 percent of all applicable contracts for products and services to meet sustainability requirements. The GSA has already adopted certification to NSF/ANSI 140: Sustainability Assessment for Carpet as a purchasing requirement. As new sustainability standards are created and implemented by industry, the expectation is that GSA will adopt more standards as purchasing requirements.
NSF/ANSI 342: Sustainability Assessment for Wallcovering Products is the foremost standard to evaluate and certify the sustainability of wallcovering products such as textiles, vinyl, alternative polymer (or vinyl- or alternative polymercoated), paper and other natural fiber products.
This American national standard sets a certification level for environmentally preferable and sustainable wallcovering products. The standard employs quantifiable metrics and performance criteria across the product life cycle, from raw material extraction through manufacturing, distribution, its use and end-of-life management.
Similar to LEED certification for buildings, this standard assigns point values to prerequisite requirements and elective criteria in a number of categories. Unique to this standard is the requirement to combine points from both the manufacturer and distributor to determine the certification level as Conformant, Silver, Gold or Platinum. Each organization is responsible for its own rating and applies individually.
Manufacturers are evaluated on categories including:
Distributors must follow environmentally-preferable practices in areas including:
NSF/ANSI 342 is not a standard imposed on industry; it’s a standard developed through support by industry. Manufacturers and distributors of wallcoverings wanted to formalize their best practices in sustainable design, manufacture and roduct distribution into an official wallcoverings standard. This effort was spearheaded by the Wallcoverings Association and developed through a consensus-based process by NSF International and a joint committee of users, regulatory agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency, wallcovering manufacturers, distributors and academics.
Like a chain-of-custody certification, the NSF/ANSI 342 standard requires participation from both the manufacturer and the distributor. The product certification rating is a combination of the individual point totals of the manufacturer and the distributor. This means the same product could carry different certification levels based on the specific manufacturer-distributor pairing.
For example, let’s say Wallcoverings Inc. received 160 points for its Spring Blossoms product line. Distributor A has earned 37 points, while Distributor B and Distributor C have earned 20 points each. Spring Blossoms products sold through Distributor A will carry a Platinum certification (combined points equal 197, which is greater than the 195 minimum required for Platinum). The exact same Spring Blossoms products sold by Distributors B and C will carry a Gold certification (combined point totals of the manufacturer and each of these distributors is 180, which is less than the 195 required for Platinum, so each certification is Gold).
Product certification to NSF/ANSI 342 is determined through compliance by both a manufacturer and a distributor.
The standard allows transparency regarding conformance requirements, enabling straight-forward marketplace comparisons. The process for product certification is comprehensive, but the rating system (Conformant, Silver, Gold or Platinum) is easy to understand and interpret.
NSF/ANSI 342 is a multi-attribute standard that evaluates wallcoverings against established requirements, performance criteria and quantifiable metrics in six key areas:
NSF/ANSI 342 certification gives architects and designers a way of identifying and comparing sustainable products. The ratings allow flexibility in choosing not just the product, but the manufacturer and distributor pairing most suitable for meeting specific project requirements.
Sustainability assessment standards help the Architect and Design community to:
NSF/ANSI 342 gives manufacturers and distributors the framework to produce more sustainable products and become a more sustainable operation. It also favorably positions companies who choose to self regulate ahead of the competition if the U.S. General Services Administration and other purchasing authorities adopt the wallcovering standard, as GSA did with NSF/ANSI 140 for carpeting.
For more information about NSF/ANSI sustainability assessment standards or certification to NSF/ANSI 342, please contact NSF at (734) 476-2543, internationally at 00+1 (734) 476-2543 or by e-mail at sustainability@nsf.org.