When the concept of the Health Product Declaration was first piloted in 2011, building industry leaders representing both consumer and manufacturer interests joined forces to determine a practical structure for inventorying product content and associated health hazards. The process was initiated by a diverse group of consumer representatives (designers, specifiers, contractors, building owner/operators and nonprofit workers), and was made successful with the participation of 30 product manufacturers.
The result of the 2011 Pilot was HPD version 1.0, an impartial tool for the accurate reporting of product contents and each ingredient’s relationship to the bigger picture of human and ecological health. The HPD objectively defines the critical information needed to support accurate supply chain disclosure by manufacturers and suppliers. It doesn’t state whether a product or its contents are good or bad; it aggregates information and aims to offer a context for the details that are provided.