Contrary to a common misperception, today’s vinyl siding, the nation’s most popular choice for exterior cladding, is being recognized for its environmentally friendly benefits. When evaluated on attributes such as global warming impact, environmental performance, economic performance, transportation issues, recyclability, resource and manufacturing efficiency and durability, vinyl siding is concluded to be a sustainable product that leaves a small environmental footprint.

Throughout the manufacturing process, on the home and even after it has fulfilled its useful life, vinyl siding scores well on tough environmental tests.

And, green building experts have recognized vinyl siding’s value.

• The NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines¹ award four points in Section 2.1.5 for using building materials, including vinyl siding, that require no additional finish resources to complete application on site.

• USGBC’s LEED for Homes report² cites Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) software as an accurate tool for determining environmentally friendly and economically sustainable building materials. When evaluated using this software, vinyl siding’s performance qualifies it as an environmentally preferable product³ – often outperforming other exterior cladding materials, including brick.

Click here for more information on vinyl siding and the environment. Updated!

For the environmental facts about vinyl, click here for information from the Vinyl Institute, a U.S. trade association representing the leading manufacturers of vinyl, vinyl chloride monomer, vinyl additives and modifiers, and vinyl packaging materials.

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1.  NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines, Version 1. Part1. Section 2. Resource Efficiency .2.1.5. December 13, 2004.

2.  January 2007, USGBC LEED® for Homes Program Pilot Rating System, Page 114 – BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability).

3.  January 2007, USGBC LEED® for Homes Program Pilot Rating System. Page 110 – products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose.