ANDERSON, SC – The Tile Council of North America (TCNA) has announced the establishment of Green SquaredSM, the world's first consensus-based sustainability standard and certification program developed exclusively for tiles and tile installation materials.

“With the recent approval of ANSI A138.1, the standard upon which the Green Squared certification program is based, our industry now has a means by which to define and certify the environmental and social sustainability attributes of tiles and related installation materials,” remarked Bill Griese, TCNA standards development and Green Initiative manager.

ANSI A138.1 is a multi-attribute sustainability standard which was written by an ANSI Accredited Standards Committee, ASC A108, representing green building stakeholders, tile consumers, manufacturers, distributors, installers, and many other relevant interests. Encompassing ceramic tiles, glass tiles, setting materials, grouts, backer boards and membranes, this standard allows the tile industry to offer installed systems of conforming sustainable products – the first offering of its kind by any building material industry.

TCNA developed the Green Squared program as a way for tiles and related installation materials to be certified as meeting ANSI A138.1. Products evaluated by an independent, third-party certification agency and verified to meet ANSI A138.1 will appear in the marketplace beginning in April 2012. These products will bear a single, easily recognizable Green Squared Certified mark that will give architects, specifiers, and consumers the confidence that these products are truly sustainable.

More information about this development and the latest updates on Green Squared will be revealed during Surfaces.