What Is the GREENGUARD Certificate?

What Is the GREENGUARD Certificate?

The GREENGUARD certificate confirms that the chemical substances contained in a product used indoors stay within the defined limit values for indoor air quality.

People spend around 90 percent of their time indoors, and indoor air pollution runs 2 to 5 times higher than outdoor air. A major contributor to that pollution is the volatile organic compounds that come out of materials and furniture. The GREENGUARD certificate is evidence that a product is low-emission and supports healthier indoor environments. GREENGUARD, the organisation appointed by the American National Standards Institute to set indoor air quality standards, has built criteria for the chemical emissions from construction products in schools, indoor spaces, and sensitive environments such as nurseries, and certifies products that meet those criteria. The GREENGUARD certificate is evidence that the product emits at low levels. Certified products are tested by an independent organisation and re-tested on a periodic cycle. Almost every building material releases some chemical emission, and even where a single product's emission is low, the combined emissions from every material in the room can rise to dangerous levels. Any indoor environment may contain 50 to 100 different volatile organic compounds at the same time.

High levels of volatile organic compounds indoors can cause both short-term and long-term health problems. They can trigger allergy and asthma attacks, cause headaches and flu-like symptoms, lead to eye itching and irritation, nausea, nosebleeds, dry sore throat, and even memory weakness. People are exposed to high levels of volatile organic compounds in their homes. Children exposed to high levels of volatile organic compounds carry four times the risk of developing asthma than adults. Between 1980 and 1994, asthma prevalence among children under five years old rose by 160 percent. Indoor air quality can be 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. Poor indoor air quality can cause short- and long-term health problems.