Products are evaluated both by their material health and the level of transparency. We acknowledge the need to protect proprietary information, and have provided several means of doing so:
1. Mask the identity of an ingredient
You can mask the identity of an ingredient, but still make health hazard information for that ingredient available. Products with masked ingredients can still meet our criteria, but they will not score as high as a fully disclosed product.
To mask your ingredient identity, enter it by name in intentional content. When you edit the line item, you'll see an option to use a generic name for it. Select that option and give it a generic name. For instance, if you're entering PVC, you might call it 'polymer' or 'plastic'. We still see the hazards so we're able to make decisions about what we buy, but we won't know the actual ingredient in question.
2. Disclose only to Google
Another way to protect your proprietary information is to disclose your information only to Google. Your information will be viewable to Google and Google building project teams only. Again, this doesn't score as highly as public disclosure per our criteria, but it is still possible to meet our criteria. By default, your information is shared only with Google. If you enter in a public url, that is our signal that it is publicly shared. Leave that blank if you want to disclose only to Google.
3. Use a 3rd party verified certification
Cradle to Cradle certification is an additional option if you have concerns about your proprietary information. Certification happens through a third party that reviews your information under NDA, then certifies the product. Google and the public never see the data, unless you want to disclose it, but instead see the final certification level acheived.
If you found any typos, grammatical goofs, or misinformation in this article, please email your feedback to buildingmaterials@google.com and include the URL for this page