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Digital collection of tools and guides to help designers, architects, homeowners, and developers make more informed choices about building materials and health.

More than 100 product guides to support practitioners in selecting products that avoid negative health impacts.

Platform with aggregated information on human health and environmental impacts for products from leading manufacturers, vetted by experts against a sustainability criteria baseline.

Pharos provides resources to assess human and environmental health hazards of chemicals and building materials, plus tools to collaborate to find safer alternatives. The goal of this effort is to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals and improve the inherent safety of materials and products.

Pharos provides hazard, use, and exposure information on 178,411 chemicals and 220 different kinds of building products.

Hazard Assessments

Certified GreenScreen assessments in the public domain or for sale.

Hazard Lists

Authoritative scientific lists for health and environmental hazards and restricted substance lists.

Common Products

Common contents and hazards of 220 different kinds of building products.

Data Services

Pharos data in bulk and expert analysis from HBN researchers.

At face value, cabinetry may seem to be made of one type of wood, but its construction is much more complex. Many prefabricated cabinets are built using a combination of three or more wood composites and veneers, which typically use toxic glues containing formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen.

By comparing the material contents and construction in prefabricated cabinets, we created a spectrum that indicates the relationship between affordability and health. We typically consider the health effects during all phases of product development, but these diagrams are focused on the health effects during installation and inhabitation.

Currently, prefabricated cabinets are composed of 5%-30% healthier materials. Designers can increase this percentage by requesting manufacturers to build with NAF (no added formaldehyde) composite woods. This often comes with an increased price. Our Composite Wood Product and Spec Guidance gives a range of healthier substitutions.

Information from GreenSpec on environmental impacts of building materials, including chemicals of concern.

Database containing products that have sustainability credits, variety of product certifications or a variety of building certification scheme including validation of claims by UL.

Catalog of products for which Environmental Performance Declaration or Material Ingredient information is available. Also includes products for which information related to rating systems are available.

SundaHus Environmental Data is a Swedish database of products used in construction and buildings with an environmental rating A-D.  The product assessment is based on the provider's documentation of the product together with the rules of the Swedish Chemical Inspectorate's PRIO criteria and EU REACH Directives.

Database listing products that have obtained the Declare Label by the Living Building Challenge.