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Tackling the IAQ Test

The indoor air quality program offers participants continuing education credits.

Meaghan O'Neill -- Interior Design, 5/19/2005 12:00:00 AM

In an effort to help the design-build community better understand indoor air quality, Nora Rubber Flooring is taking on the role of educational resource. The Lawrence, Massachusetts-based company, a division of Freudenberg Building Systems, has recently trained various members of its sales staff to present the Greenguard Environmental Institute’s CEU program on indoor air quality. The program, entitled “Helping Your Clients Maintain Good IAQ,” provides instruction on the health and financial effects of poor indoor air quality, material selection and source control, the relationship between air quality and LEED certification, the importance of third-party certified products, and an overview of the Greenguard certification process.

Other manufacturers with representatives trained to teach the program include Herman Miller, Teknion, and Knoll. Formica reps are scheduled to be trained in upcoming months.

A Greenguard-certified manufacturer since 2004, Nora is eligible to train its staff for such education-related purposes. Representatives will be dispatched to teach classes upon request.

The Greenguard Certification Program is an independent, third-party testing program for low-emitting products and materials that helps the design-build community locate and specify off-the-shelf, low-emitting products for indoor environments. Greenguard Certification is a voluntary program available to all manufacturers and suppliers. The mission of the non-profit Greenguard Environmental Institute is to improve public health and quality of life via safer products and to provide its research and information to the public.

“Facility managers and building owners are paying greater attention to indoor air quality and the advantages of green building practices,” says Philipp Leferenz, president of Freudenberg Building Systems, explaining the timeliness of Nora’s new educational offerings. “As a result,” Leferenz continues, “architects, designers and specifiers are called upon, with increasing frequency, to offer building designs that meet stringent new IAQ standards.”

Participants who complete GEI classes can receive continuing education credits applicable to professional organizations, including the American Institute of Architects, the International Interior Design Association, the American Society of Interior Designers, and the Construction Specifications Institute.

To learn more about setting up an educational session with a Nora representative, contact Carol Fudge, marketing manager at Freudenberg Building Systems, at 800-332-6672. Further information is also available via email, at education@greenguard.org.

The Greenguard Product Guide, a resource for finding low-emitting products, is available free online. Featured products are regularly tested to ensure that chemical and particle emissions meet acceptable indoor air quality pollutant guidelines and standards. Additionally, Greenguard’s 2005 Indoor Air Quality Guide, released last month, is available free on the organization’s website (registration required). The guide is a resource to help design professionals integrate aspects of healthy indoor air quality into projects without unwieldy additional effort or expense. It includes general information, facts regarding chemical emissions from interiors products and materials, an IAQ management plan, and resources for low-emitting materials.