Eco-Friendly Painting with Sherwin-Williams

Programs

• ENERGY STAR ® : a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that identifies energy-efficient products and practices. In 2007, Americans using ENERGY STAR-certified products avoided greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 27 million cars – while saving $16 billion in utility bills. Learn more about ENERGY STAR.

• Forest Stewardship Council : a nonprofit organization that sets high standards for the environmental, social and economic management of forests. FSC-certified products must meet or exceed these standards.

• Green Label: the Carpet and Rug Institute gives this designation to low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) carpet, cushions and adhesives. The very lowest-VOC products are labeled Green Label Plus.

• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ : a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Learn what the U.S. Green Building Council has in store for LEED in 2009.

• SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio): a measure of efficiency for air conditioners or heat pumps. The SEER rating is the British thermal unit of cooling output during a typical cooling-season divided by the total electric energy input in watt-hours during the same period. Current federal law mandates that every central split cooling system manufactured or sold in the United States today have a seasonal energy efficiency ratio of at least 13.