Healthy Building Network

{{Short description|American nonprofit organization}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = Healthy Building Network

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| formation = 2000

| type = NGO

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| purpose = Sustainable and green building

| headquarters = 4911 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

| website = {{URL|https://healthybuilding.net/}}

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The Healthy Building Network is an organization founded in 2000 which publishes and researches information on the sustainability of building materials and advocates for the use of environmentally friendly building materials and building policies.{{cite web| url = http://www.healthybuilding.net/about| title = About Us| accessdate = October 10, 2020| publisher = The Healthy Building Network}} Other partner organizations which support the projects of the Healthy Building Network, including Boston Green and BuildingGreen.{{cite web| title = Boston Green & Healthy Building Network: Aligning the Work of Multiple Organizations Working on an Issue| url = http://www.ndcollaborative.com/services/networks/case-studies/82-ghbn| publisher = New Direction Collaborative|author=Beth Tener|date=30 September 2009| accessdate = 10 October 2020}}

The Pharos Project is one of their main projects and publishes information about the environmental impact of building materials.{{cite web| url = http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2010/11/17/GreenSpec-and-Pharos-Partner-on-Green-Building-Product-Information/ | title = GreenSpec and Pharos Partner on Green Building Product Information | first = Allyson|last = Wendt| date = November 17, 2010| accessdate = August 8, 2011| publisher = Environmental Building News}} Pharos Project was first unveiled in 2006, and was described by an HBN representative as "a user-friendly materials evaluation tool that strives to be transparent, comprehensive, independent, accurate and fair."{{Cite web| title = The Pharos Effect-Pass It On!| url = http://www.healthybuilding.net/news/061207passiton.html| first = Bill | last = Walsh| date = December 7, 2006| publisher = Health Building Network| accessdate = August 10, 2011}} In 2009, the Pharos Project received an award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA called the project "a revolutionary on-line tool for evaluating and comparing the health, environmental and social impacts of building materials in a comprehensive and transparent way."{{Cite web| url = https://archive.epa.gov/region09/awards/web/html/index-3.html| title = 2009 Environmental Awards| publisher = United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 9| accessdate = October 10, 2020| date = February 21, 2016}}

Other projects include research and literature surveys for particular types of building materials or hazards. For example, in December 2013, the organization released a report assessing the asthmagens commonly found in building materials.{{Cite web | last = Peeples | first = Lynne | title = Are Toxic Chemicals In Building Materials Making Us Sick? | work = Huffington Post | accessdate = 2014-03-12 | date = 2013-12-12 | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/12/building-materials-asthma_n_4427243.html }}