The National Home Builders Association Research Center has awarded its Green Approved label to structural frame products from iLevel by Weyerhaeuser and Owens Corning's fiberglass insulation, duct products, foam insulation and masonry veneer products.

The research center, a subsidiary of NAHB, introduced its Green Approved program this year to attest that products bearing the label are eligible for earning points under the National Green Building Standard toward green certification of a building — provided the products are used in a way that enables them to be considered.

The iLevel engineered wood products and solid sawn lumber were the first to receive the Green Approved label. They include TJI joists, TimberStrand laminated strand lumber, Parallam parallel strand lumber, Microllam laminated veneer lumber, iLevel Framer Series Lumber, iLevel Premium Joists and all other wood structural framing products in the iLevel line.

The Green Approved Owen Corning products are its PINK Fiberglas Insulation batts, rolls and unbonded loosefill; duct liner, duct wrap and duct board products; FOAMULAR and Celfort Extruded Polystyrene Insulation; and Masonry Veneer products, including Cultured Stone and ProStone brands.

The NAHB Research Center is one of three major organizations to launch a product verification service this year.

Introduced in concept at Greenbuild last fall, the UL Environment Inc., the environmental claims verification service of Underwriters Laboratories, went live in January.

In March, Good Housekeeping Research Institute announced that its Green Good Housekeeping Seal program will begin in the second half of the year.