The State of Minnesota
Sustainable Building Guidelines (MSBG)

Buildings, Benchmarks and Beyond

Indoor Environmental Quality Guidelines

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I.2 Specify Low-emitting Materials

Intent
Reduce indoor chemical pollution in a building by choosing low-emitting materials and furnishings during construction, operations and maintenance. Since material emissions are a major factor in determining air quality, lower emitting materials will improve the air quality in the space.

Required Performance Criteria

A. All newly installed interior materials (including but not limited to: flooring adhesives, sealants, and concrete sealers, carpets, resilient flooring, wood flooring, paints, thermal and acoustical insulation products, gypsum board, acoustical ceilings, acoustical wall panels, cabinetry, composite wood subflooring, and furnishings) shall be certified to comply with the most current Indoor Air Quality portion of California Section 01350 standard. Selection of a product listed in one of the approved databases below is sufficient to comply.
Exception 1 to requirement: if, in the sum of all the approved databases below, there are less than two supplying companies for a product type that are certified as compliant as of the end of the Design Development phase of the project, that product type does not need to comply.
Exception 2 to requirement: Paints containing a minimum of 20% recycled content, which might not comply with this guideline, may be used as a primer in spaces unoccupied for 72 hours after application and covered with final topcoat(s) that meet the requirements of this guideline.

Approved databases of materials that are recognized as substantially compliant with the most current Indoor Air Quality portion of California Section 01350 standard:

  • California High Performance Schools (CHPS) Low Emitting Materials (LEM) Table
  • Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label Plus Certification (for Adhesives)
  • Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label Plus Certification (for Carpet)
  • Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) Gold Indoor Advantage Certification
  • Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) FloorScore™ Certification
  • GREENGUARD Product Emission Standard For Children & Schools™

B. All newly installed modular office furnishings shall comply with the most current version of the document "State of California Office Furniture Systems INDOOR AIR QUALITY-VOC EMISSIONS" Dated June 7, 2006. Contract Documents shall state that manufacturers must send a sign letter affirming that the product to be provided have been tested to comply with this standard within a year of delivery to the project.

Compliance Tools and Resources
For Item A above:

  • As of MSBG Version 2.0, the most current version of the Indoor Air Quality portion of California Section 01350 standard is in a document called: "STANDARD PRACTICE FOR THE TESTING OF VOLATILE ORGANIC EMISSIONS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES USING SMALL-SCALE ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMBERS" dated JULY 15, 2004 and including ADDENDUM 200401. As of MSBG version 2.o it can be found at: www.ciwmb.ca.gov/GreenBuilding/Specs/Section01350/default.htm

Links for Approved Databases for item A above as of MSBG Version 2.1

For Item B: Above:

  • "Final Environmental Specifications to be Included in the Bid Documents for Office Furniture Systems REVISED: December 18, 2000" As of MSBG version 2.1 this file can be found at: http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/GreenBuilding/Specs/Furniture/DGSSpecs.pdf

Optionally, for reference for both A and B above:

  • As of MSBG Version 2.1 the index page which leads to the files listed above is: www.cal-iaq.org/VOC/ and the main page for the program that manages these documents is: www.cal-iaq.org

Related MSBG Documents

Supplemental Resources

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