DECLARE PROGRAM EXCEPTIONS

EXCEPTION OVERVIEW

Although the aim of Declare and the Living Building Challenge is to move the building industry toward the complete phase-out of all chemicals on the Red List, the Living Building Challenge recognizes that there are current limitations in the building materials marketplace. The following Declare Program Exceptions are applicable to Declare manufacturers and have been granted by the Living Building Challenge to reflect current market limitations in the industry to develop alternatives. Declare Program Exceptions are temporary and will be removed if new products and formulations become available. If a material contains a Red List item but has been granted a temporary Exception, the Red List chemical will still be listed on the ingredient label in red lettering. A footnote will be added to identify the specific Exception. Exceptions listed on the label are valid for one year.

In order to uphold Declare as the guiding light in product transparency, exceptions have been updated in Declare 2.0 to hold manufacturers to a more stringent standard than LBC project teams. All exceptions have been re-vetted; some Declare 1.0 exceptions have been retired, and others have been updated to reflect changes in the products industry. All active labels listing previous exceptions are valid until the time of renewal.

EXCEPTION EVALUATION PROCESS

All Declare Exceptions will be evaluated on a defined basis using the LBC Red List Imperative Exception evaluation process. Each exception request will follow the flow chart and may not skip any steps. All existing Declare Program Exceptions have been vetted using, and all future exception requests will be held to, this process.