Southwire recently obtained a Declare label for its 600 Volt and 1000 Volt SOLONONplus® Type XHHW-2 VW-1 cables, making it the first company in the United States to offer a Declare label for a power cable used in the wiring of green building projects. 

“As Southwire continues its sustainability journey, we seek new opportunities to make our products more sustainable and support our customers in their sustainability efforts,” said Bo Quick, senior director of sustainability & environmental partnerships. “Achieving a Declare label for these products is another step forward as we continue to innovate new sustainable products and solutions and provide more transparency to our customers.” 

The Declare label, created by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) in 2012, is described as a “nutrition label” for the building industry. For a product to be fully eligible for the label, it must not contain any substances on their “Red List,” which identifies over 800 chemical substances within 20 categories that the ILFI considers the worst in class ingredients in the building industry.

After determining that the SOLONONplus® products met the “Red List Free” criteria, Southwire worked to pursue the Declare label last year. Now, the Declare label on the Southwire products shows:

• Where the product was assembled
• The life expectancy and end of life options
• Ingredient reporting - with all product ingredients color-coded to designate potential hazards
• Declaration status  
• Living Building Challenge compliance and expiration date

The Living Building Challenge asks the question, ‘what if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place?’ This challenge is the world’s most rigorous proven performance standard for buildings, and people from around the world use the regenerative design framework to create spaces that give more than they take.

“By achieving the Declare label, Southwire is providing transparency, so you know right away if a product meets the Living Building Challenge standards,” said Mark Rogers, Southwire product stewardship coordinator. “This is an extremely rewarding achievement because it is helping our customers, our business and our environment.” 

To learn more about Southwire’s commitment to sustainability, visit www.southwire.com/sustainability. For more Southwire news, visit www.southwire.com/newsroom.