Growing along with the green building phenomenon are eco-labeling and environmental certification, which provide the "me too" badge of honor builders want attached to their projects. But with so many competing standards, it can be hard for contractors and customers to know what a given label means. Thankfully Aerias, an indoor air information center, has come out with a report shedding light on industry-leading certifications.

Titled, Primary Green Product Standards and Certification Programs: A Comparison, the study looks at key differences between standards covering water, energy, and sustainable forestry. Aerias says that although each program offers some sort of external grading, the process varies from lenient company-provided information (self-certification) to rigorous testing by third-party organizations.

Cradle-to-Cradle

A broad lifecyle approach to product design, cradle-to-cradle encompasses the starting materials, manufacturing process, use, and disposal (re-use). Although thought of as the hard-core vegan of eco-labels, a concrete C2C standard has been created by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), assessing five categories of sustainability: materials, material reutilization / design for the environment, energy, water and social responsibility.

GREENGUARD

This certification program is designed to help homebodies breathe a little easier. GREENGUARD gives the thumbs up to products that promote good indoor air quality by emitting low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde, and other nasty inhalables.

Green Seal

According to Aerias, this program "identifies and promotes products and services that cause less toxic pollution and waste, conserve resources and habitats, and minimize global warming and ozone depletion." Like cradle-to-cradle, Green Seal focuses on product life-cycles. And once certified, manufacturers aren't off the hook, as they're subject to annual monitoring.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

Created in 1993, the FSC is a voluntary certification program promoting sustainable forest management. Standards are based on 10 principles and 57 criteria addressing "legal issues, indigenous peoples’ rights, labor rights, multiple benefits and local environmental impacts surrounding forest management." Arguably one of the most successful organizations, FSC standards had been applied to more than 170 million acres and in 60 countries by 2006.

ENERGY STAR

A label of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, this effort lets organizations earn a gold star from Big Brother. The .gov vehicle certifies energy saving products and provides guidelines for energy efficient buildings. The ENERGY STAR name is by far the biggest brand here, with more than 70% of the public recognizing it. Sales of ENERGY STAR products have totaled 2.5 billion been purchased since 1992.

WaterSense

As the newer, water-focused relative of ENERGYSTAR (perhaps the Jamie Lynn Spears of environmental certification). WaterSense approves low water use products and is developing a standard for single-family homes. Certified products save about 20% on H20 compared to their thirsty counterparts.

Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)

A forestry management program built to "protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests with exceptional conservation value". Similar in scope to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), open to owners of forestlands, processors, and product makers. However, it should be said their logo (above) is much more catchy than FSC's, a real asset in a brand-obsessed world.

GreenSpec Directory

Sort of a Match.com for the green manufacturers and builders, the directory provides one-stop shopping for earth-friendly materials and products. Unlike Match.com, those included are carefully screened by an editorial staff which strives to list only the top 5-10% of products in each category.

By now, you should feel smugly qualified to judge the dishwashers, picnic tables, and plasma TVs around you. Next week, maybe I'll do smart grid. Ready your flash cards!