The GREENGUARD Gold standard includes health based criteria for additional chemicals and also requires lower total VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions levels to ensure that products are acceptable for use in environments such as schools and healthcare facilities. In addition to limiting emissions of more than 360 VOCs and total chemical emissions, GREENGUARD Gold Certified products must also comply with requirements of the State of California's Department of Public Health "Standard Method for the Testing and Evaluation of Volatile Organic Chemical Emissions from Indoor Sources Using Environmental Chambers, Version 1.1 (2010)" (also known as California Section 01350). Office Furniture products that are GREENGUARD Gold Certified are also compliant with the BIFMA X7.1 standard and BIFMA e3 credits 7.6.1, 7.6.2, and 7.6.3.

GREENGUARD testing is done on finished products rather than individual components.  In practice, the GREENGUARD Gold logo means that a specific mattress model has been tested for VOC emissions and certified in its entirety by GREENGUARD to its Gold standard.  GREENGUARD Gold certification is NOT an indication of natural or organic status.

GREENGUARD certification is a voluntary, independent program conducted by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI), a business unit of UL (Underwriters Laboratories) that is focused on promoting global sustainability, environmental health and safety.  GREENGUARD was acquired by UL in 2011.