Schaumburg, Ill. -- The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) board of directors voted unanimously to establish a sustainability steering committee. It will oversee the various AAMA committees and task groups involved in establishing standard practices that lead to product sustainability -- from component development to structural integrity.

“This decision reflects the vital strategic importance that AAMA believes sustainability-related issues have to the fenestration and glazing industry, and to AAMA members’ businesses,” says AAMA's sustainability steering committee co-chair, Mark Silverberg, president for Technoform North America, Inc. of Twinsburg, Ohio.

Kevin Gaul, co-chair for the AAMA Sustainability Steering CommitteeThe other co-chair for the AAMA Sustainability Steering Committee is Kevin Gaul, director of legislative and regulatory affairs for Pella Corporation in Pella, Iowa. In addition to leading the committee, both Silverberg and Gaul are members of AAMA’s board of directors and participate in several other AAMA committees and task groups including the Architectural Products Group and the Residential Products Group.

Gaul adds, “Windows, doors and skylights have historically been designed and manufactured to meet and exceed sustainability and energy-efficiency requirements. We want commercial and residential builders, specifiers, architects, incentive program providers and homeowners to be fully informed of the many benefits of incorporating the technologically advanced fenestration products available today into sustainable buildings’ designs.”

The formation of this new committee builds on AAMA’s substantial past work and educational efforts, which address product-related sustainability and transparency-related issues. The pending release of the joint industry document for fenestration Product Category Rules (PCRs) will provide manufacturers with the tools needed to develop life cycle analyses on their product lines. The Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) that follow will offer individual manufacturers an opportunity to showcase their processes and commitment to sustainability.

Silverberg elaborates, “The Sustainability Steering Committee will be instrumental in monitoring industry advancements that may lead to expanding future editions of the PCR, along with conveying the well-documented advantages and energy-savings of introducing an abundance of natural daylighting and ventilation into schools, hospitals, commercial buildings and homes. This information will complement the environmental assessment of the product-specific EPDs and provide commercial and residential builders and occupants with information on the safety and energy-efficiency of using today’s fenestration products.”

Gaul continues, “This new committee also will keep the fenestration industry informed as to how these ever-evolving issues may affect their businesses. Working closely with the Marketing Steering Committee, it will contribute to a unified voice in marketing activities and messaging. All of AAMA’s committees, task groups and members are addressing sustainability in one way or another. AAMA’s collaborative approach will ensure that issues are prioritized appropriately and that the interests of the industry and its stakeholders are represented.”

The committee will begin its work immediately via monthly conference calls and will report its progress to AAMA’s membership beginning with the AAMA National Summer Conference, June 1-4 at the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis.

More information about AAMA and its activities can be found via the AAMA Media Relations page or on the AAMA website, www.aamanet.org.