Green vs Sustainable

Can a product be Green and sustainable? This is a difficult question and it can be a yes or a no. Being green is one thing and being sustainable is another and finding the products that are both takes some research. First understanding the difference between green and sustainable may clarify a few points. Using products that are used in the home building industry have some good examples. Also understanding the life cycle of a products helps to determine whether the product can be both.
Take an energy efficient window as one example. It can be considered green if it reduces wasted energy in a home and fits the guidelines within the LEED Certified program. But if this window is manufactured in a way that it harms the environment or workers and can not be recycled it can not be sustainable. Following the lifecycle of this window can determine if it can be considered sustainable. Many window companies can provide this information to help with the life cycle.
Now look at a product that uses energy such as a home appliance. Go to an appliance store and notice the yellow energy guide sticker. The measurement determines whether the appliance will save energy over your existing appliance. Most new appliances will save over older models. It can be manufactured with recycled products in the safest environment and from products that will not harm the environment after it is turned into waste or recycled. It can be considered green. But the power that runs the appliance is not green such as coal powered electricity then the appliance is not sustainable. If the electricity comes from a clean source such as wind, solar or hydro then it can become sustainable.
Learning the life cycle of a product can be very interesting to some people. Many companies go to extreme measures to manufacture in an environmentally green way and there are companies that don’t.
Some composite decking products are excellent examples of a 100% recycled, green and sustainable product. It can be manufactured from old recycled wood products such as pallets and crates blended with recycled plastics such as milk containers or plastic bags. These recycled products are ground up and heated with a nature gas furnace. Then the heated wood and plastic is extruded through a die to form the shape of the final decking product. Some may say this is not green because it uses plastic, but it did not manufacture the plastic for the decking product it is eliminating the waste that would normally end up in a land fill and never biodegrade. This could be considered sustainable as long as there is waste that needs recycled. Some may debate this and say it can not be green.
One way to help decipher some of these debates is deciding if it is helping the environment, protecting every ones health, using clean energy sources and making our world a better place to live. Even if some one determines that it can not be classified as green. Creating a world with sustainable products will help provide for the future generations. So is lumber green and sustainable?

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