Summary
Details
- Global
The HPD Open Standard is not legally mandatory.
It can become practically required where:
A green building project requests HPDs.
A buyer requires material health disclosure.
An architect specifies HPDs.
A building owner requires product content transparency.
A manufacturer wants to support LEED or similar documentation.
A procurement process requires standardized product content reporting.
In most cases, HPD reporting is voluntary and used to support building material transparency.
Deep dive
- What’s Required
- 1. Use the HPD Open Standard format
- 2. Product content disclosure
- 3. Health information reporting
- 4. Version control
- 5. Public disclosure and project use
- Important Deadlines
- Current Status
- Penalties for Non-Compliance
- 1. Documentation rejection
- 2. Loss of specification eligibility
- 3. Claim correction
- 4. Contractual consequences
- 5. Greenwashing risk
- Examples of Known Violations / Failure Modes
- Resources
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What’s Required
1. Use the HPD Open Standard format
Manufacturers use the HPD Open Standard to prepare a Health Product Declaration for a building product.
The HPD format provides a consistent structure for reporting:
Product identity.
Product content.
Ingredients or materials.
Associated health information.
Disclosure thresholds.
Hazard screening.
Residuals and impurities where applicable.
Manufacturer information.
Certification or verification references where relevant.
HPDC describes the HPD Open Standard as a format and instructions for accurate, reliable, and consistent reporting of product contents and associated health information.
2. Product content disclosure
The HPD supports structured disclosure of product contents for products used in buildings.
Companies may need:
Bill of materials.
Chemical or material names.
CAS numbers where available.
Supplier disclosures.
Concentration thresholds.
Product composition data.
Residual and impurity information.
Explanation of undisclosed content.
3. Health information reporting
The HPD Open Standard connects disclosed product contents with health-related information.
This can include:
Hazard screening.
Authoritative hazard lists.
Ingredient health data.
Disclosure level.
Data completeness.
Notes on uncertainty.
Associated certifications or testing.
4. Version control
HPDC maintains official HPD formats for each standard version. HPDC states that official blank formats are provided for each version of the HPD Open Standard.
Companies should check:
Current HPD version.
Format requirements.
Completed and blank HPD templates.
Guidance documents.
Repository requirements.
Project documentation needs.
5. Public disclosure and project use
HPDs are commonly used by architects, designers, building owners, consultants, and manufacturers to support material health transparency.
HPDC describes itself as a nonprofit member organization representing the building industry, with a purpose to improve transparency of information and material health in buildings and the environment.
Important Deadlines
The HPD Open Standard is voluntary, so there is no universal legal deadline.
Important timing points:
HPDC was created in summer 2012 as a nonprofit member organization.
HPD Open Standard Version 3.0 was released on September 29, 2025, according to HPD Builder information.
HPD documents should be updated when product formulations, suppliers, disclosure thresholds or standard versions change.
Project teams should verify that an HPD is current and uses the appropriate standard version.
Current Status
The HPD Open Standard is active and globally used in the building industry. HPDC describes it as the go-to format for transparent, comprehensive product data and provides official formats for completed Health Product Declarations.
Current status:
Active open disclosure standard.
Managed by HPD Collaborative.
Version 3.0 released in 2025.
Focused on building product content and health information.
Free public standard under Creative Commons license.
Used by manufacturers, architects, owners, designers, and consultants.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
The HPD Open Standard does not impose statutory penalties.
Possible consequences include:
1. Documentation rejection
A project team may reject an HPD if it is incomplete, outdated, or not prepared to the required standard version.
2. Loss of specification eligibility
Products may be less competitive where material health disclosure is required.
3. Claim correction
Companies may need to correct inaccurate or unsupported product content claims.
4. Contractual consequences
If HPDs are required by project specifications, incomplete disclosure may affect procurement.
5. Greenwashing risk
Misleading claims about product health or transparency can create reputational and legal risk.
Examples of Known Violations / Failure Modes
Typical failure modes include:
Treating an HPD as a certification.
Using an outdated HPD version.
Omitting known ingredients.
Failing to disclose supplier limitations.
Using inconsistent thresholds.
Not updating the HPD after formulation changes.
Misstating hazard screening results.
Presenting incomplete content disclosure as full transparency.
Confusing HPD with Declare, EPD, or ecolabel certification.
Making health claims beyond the disclosed data.
Resources
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