Last month, a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection held a hearing entitled, "It's Too Easy Being Green." As the title implies, the subcommittee leaders believe that the basis for making environmental claims in marketing is too undefined and unchecked — in other words, beware of "greenwashing." Experts who testified at the hearing favor a total life-cycle analysis for measuring a product's green impact, just as the Vinyl Siding Institute (VSI) has been doing for years.

Dara O'Rourke, a University of California, Berkeley professor and founder of the product rating website GoodGuide, testified at the subcommittee hearing that confusion about green marketing claims "undercuts the market for truly greener products." O'Rourke would like to see the Federal Trade Commission and Congress mandate complete disclosure of ingredients, country- and factory-of-origin, a fully traceable supply chain and disclosure of a product's life-cycle impact.

VSI and its members have a history of substantiating sustainability claims for vinyl siding through life-cycle analyses covering raw material acquisition, manufacture, transportation, use, waste management, and other criteria as laid out by recognized experts outside the industry.

Vinyl siding outperforms most other exterior cladding, including brick, in practically all life-cycle stages for environmental and economic performance when analyzed using the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES^®) software, a life-cycle analysis tool developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. BEES is established per ISO 14040 and ASTM standards, and is recognized by green building professionals as a useful tool for selecting environmentally preferable products.

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Take note that analysis of silica-based fiber cement against vinyl siding and other exterior cladding cannot be conducted using BEES software, because James Hardie Building Products — by far the largest manufacturer of silica-based fiber cement siding — has not submitted their data to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Life-cycle analysis is one of the categories included in the ANSI-approved ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard™, and one reason why vinyl siding can contribute to achieving points in the program. Vinyl siding also can contribute to achieving points for certification in the United States Green Building Council LEED^® for New Construction and LEED for Homes Rating Systems.

So when manufacturers tell you that their products are green, on what are they basing their claims? When in doubt, side with products that can document sound environmental performance throughout their life cycles.