TCNA Unveils Material Ingredient Guide at Coverings

Clemson, SC, July 8, 2021-Tile Council of North America (TCNA) announced publication of its Material Ingredient Guide today at Coverings 2021.

This Material Ingredient Guide-the first of its kind by any building product industry, according to TCNA-provides information about the material ingredients used industry-wide by North American tile, mortar, and grout manufacturers, provides in-depth health assessments of those materials, and is a resource for manufacturers to use when providing the content and chemical makeup of their products or "material ingredient transparency.”

Transparency of material ingredients is critical for determining how they will contribute to the health of an indoor space.

In developing this guide, 17 manufacturers collaborated on the largest crowdfunded collection of GreenScreen Assessments to date for the following two purposes: 1) Obtain GreenScreen Benchmark Scores (listed within the guide) for the vast majority of material ingredients used by ceramic tile, mortar, and grout manufacturers, 2) Facilitate referencing these benchmark scores and associated GreenScreen Assessments when developing Manufacturer Inventories (MI) and/or Health Product Declarations (HPD) that qualify for contribution to green and healthy building "optimization" credits.

Tennessee-based WAP Sustainability, authors of the report, worked with dozens of organizations while creating this guide to bring clarity and structure to the complicated subject of material ingredient transparency. Resulting from TCNA's and its members' investment in disclosing industry-wide material ingredient information, suppliers and users of ceramic tile, mortar, and grout will have a more thorough and uniform understanding when specifying products in accordance with green and healthy building standards.

The following participating manufacturers contributed to this reporting: Ardex, Arto Brick, Bostik, Crest, Crossville, Custom Building Products, Dal-Tile Corporation, Florida Tile, Florim USA, Interceramic USA, Ironrock, Laticrete, Porcelanite-Lamosa, Portobello America, Schluter Systems, StonePeak Ceramics, American Wonder Porcelain.

With a consistent, thorough, and transparent approach to material ingredient reporting and the compilation of referenceable GreenScreen Assessment Benchmark scores on industry-wide materials, TCNA members aim to have the largest number of fully assessed material ingredient reports in the market. These fully assessed reports will make ceramic tile, mortar, and grout products eligible for contribution to LEED, WELL, and Living Building Challenge “optimization” credits.

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