Greenguard has established a series of LEED-like standards for the indoor air quality impacts of building supplies and furniture. As Metropolis explains:

"As the ideas put forth by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system slowly gain mainstream acceptance, the organization is expanding its program to apply to other facets of architecture, including commercial interiors, operating systems, and core and shell projects. But private-sector organizations are also weighing in, creating their own rating systems for sustainable design. One such company is Greenguard, which tests products to ensure their chemical and particle emissions meet Greenguard’s proprietary indoor air-quality pollutant guidelines. Those products that pay the testing fee and pass muster earn the right to call themselves Greenguard-certified.

“Most manufacturers have a very rigid and stringent quality control process in place for things like ergonomics, abrasion, fire resistance, and how their products will hold up if you drop them,” says Greenguard spokesperson Henning Bloech. “But indoor air quality or chemicals that are evaporating from their products aren’t really a part of [their measurements].”

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