If you plan to build or remodel your home, consider building with eco-friendly products. These products are built from sources considered environmentally friendly: wood from certified, well-managed forests; recycled materials; and renewable agricultural fibers. Not only are these products built from sustainable sources, they are made in ways that reduce the embodied environmental impacts of production.

Some green building products are more expensive than their nongreen counterparts, such as VOC-free (volatile organic compound) paints that produce no significant pollutants, but require different chemical formulations that may cost more to manufacture. Other green products are made from natural ingredients that are more expensive to procure such as wood grown and harvested in an environmentally sensitive way. But plenty cost no more than their conventional counterparts ? or even cost less. And as green products gain market share, economies of scale should bring down overall costs.