With vinyl replacement siding, “green” is more than a claim.

You will find this piece from Vinyl Siding Institute interesting.

Just saying your products are green doesn’t make them so. James Hardie®

claims their products are “environmentally friendly” and vinyl siding is not.

That is simply not true.

Vinyl replacement siding has been analyzed using Building for Environmental and Economic

Sustainability (BEES®) software, a leading life-cycle analysis tool developed by

the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Vinyl siding scores

well on tough environmental measures through all life-cycle stages including

raw material acquisition, manufacture, transportation, installation, use and waste

management. And, as shown, compared to other exterior cladding, vinyl replacement

siding excels in environmental performance.

How does James Hardie fiber cement score? No one knows. Comparisons

cannot be conducted in BEES® since James Hardie, the largest manufacturer

in the category, has not submitted their data to NIST. (A number of

factors, including an energy-intensive manufacturing process and high fuel

transportation costs due to the product’s heavy weight can be assumed.)

What’s more, as reported in the Shelton Group’s Green Living Pulse study, the

main motivation for reducing energy consumption is to “reduce bills/control

costs.” Research conducted as part of the New York State Energy Research

Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) High Performance Residential

Development Challenge shows that use of insulated vinyl siding results in

greater utility cost savings than James Hardie’s fiber cement.

For more comparisons between today's Vinyl Replacement Siding and fiber

cement  be sure to download:

"Side by Side- The truth about Vinyl Siding and fiber cement from the VSI website at www.vinylsiding.org