Greenbuild NYC: Conversations That Reinforce Our Pursuit of Better
This year, Construction Specialties joined the sustainability conversation at Greenbuild in New York City as part of the mindful MATERIALS pavilion. Greenbuild brings together architects, designers, manufacturers, and sustainability professionals from across the building industry to explore how we can create healthier, more sustainable buildings. For CS, it was an opportunity to share how our products and sustainability initiatives are evolving—and to hear directly from the people shaping the future of the built environment.
A shared commitment to moving the industry forward
One of the biggest themes throughout the show was the importance of collective action. There was significant discussion around the Common Materials Framework (CMF), an industry-wide, shared language designed to bring clarity and alignment to the sustainability landscape. This momentum is encouraging because CS’s Our Pursuit of Better Impact program is aligned with the CMF, reinforcing our commitment to meaningful progress alongside the broader industry.
LEED v5 was another major topic, with conversations focused on upcoming changes and the growing emphasis on material impacts and transparency. These developments reflect the same direction as the CMF: creating greater consistency in how the industry evaluates building materials and helping project teams make more informed decisions.
Listening, learning, and continuing to evolve
Technology also remained a recurring conversation. As digital tools and resources continue to evolve, we know there is no one-size-fits-all solution. At CS, we’re continuing to learn which technologies and resources are most useful to our end users and how we can adapt to better support their needs. We welcomed Ecomedes to our booth, where they demonstrated how our CS Ecomedes website helps users access product sustainability information. Featuring this resource alongside our broader sustainability conversations reinforced the importance of making sustainability data accessible and useful to the people specifying our products.
We also received questions about sustainability education, including whether CS offers continuing education courses and Lunch & Learns. The answer is yes! Our sustainability CEUs are an opportunity to bring these conversations directly to architects and designers, helping them navigate evolving industry expectations while sharing more about CS’s products and sustainability efforts.
Bringing our sustainability progress to the forefront
At the CS booth, we highlighted two important sustainability launches from this year: our Pursuit of Better Report and our Acrovyn Sheet EPD Optimization Assessment. Both demonstrate how we’re continuing to build on our sustainability commitments—communicating our progress, improving environmental product transparency, and identifying opportunities to strengthen our impact.
We also heard directly from attendees who were excited to learn more about the evolution of Acrovyn’s sustainability story. Several visitors shared that they avoid specifying PVC, making CS’s PVC-free Acrovyn offerings particularly relevant to their work. Hearing firsthand that our product solutions help meet real project needs was a proud moment and a meaningful reminder of why this work matters.
A global conversation—and a little CS personality
The conversations at Greenbuild extended well beyond the U.S., with strong international representation, particularly from Latin America. It was exciting to connect with professionals across different markets and to reflect on CS’s global reach and ability to support customers worldwide.
And, of course, no Greenbuild recap would be complete without mentioning the CS tote bags. For the third year running, they were a hit! It’s a small but fun reminder that even amid serious conversations about the future of sustainable buildings, a little CS personality goes a long way.
Looking ahead
Overall, Greenbuild left us encouraged by the energy, engagement, and genuine interest surrounding sustainable materials. The conversations reinforced that material transparency, collaboration, and continuous improvement are becoming increasingly important across the industry—and that Our Pursuit of Better journey is moving in a direction that resonates with our customers and the broader design community.
Thank you to everyone who continues to advance these conversations. The work continues, and we’re excited to keep building on this momentum.