AFFORDABLE HOUSING
ILFI has a variety of strategies for supporting Affordable Housing projects interested in achieving any of its building certifications. These include technical support documents and online curriculum tailored to Affordable Housing projects, case studies, and periodic solicitation of a cohort of projects committed to certification , that receives comprehensive technical support over a three-year period. For more information about the Institute’s Affordable Housing Program, please visit the Affordable Housing page on the Institute’s website or email affordablehousing@living-future.org.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Project teams that have general questions about LBC or Core, or about how the Standards might apply to an unregistered project, are encouraged to contact sales@living-future.org. Registered project teams with general or specific questions are encouraged to e-mail lbc.support@living-future.org. Requests regarding unusual situations or strategies that aren’t addressed in the Petal Handbooks should be posted to the Dialogue (see following section).
REQUEST FOR RULING
The Request for Ruling process is the means by which project teams request approval for a compliance method that is either identified in the Petal Handbooks as requiring pre-approval or that doesn’t conform with the Petal Handbook guidance as written. In responding to those requests, ILFI issues determinations on situations, devised strategies, or innovations that were not contemplated by the rule set articulated in the Petal Handbooks or Early Project Guidance. Where broadly applicable, rulings will be incorporated into the Petal Handbook and Early Project Guidebook guidance.
PETAL HANDBOOKS
Project teams are strongly encouraged to review the full suite of Petal Handbooks early in the project. The handbooks contain essential detail about Imperative requirements, including important clarifications and exceptions, and specifics on how to demonstrate compliance. The handbooks define the requirements for each Petal as of the date of issue, and are updated quarterly (beginning each January) to reflect additional clarifications, exceptions, and definitions, including precedent-setting rulings from the Dialogue. Dialogue posts incorporated into the handbooks also remain searchable online.
Project teams are held to the Petal Handbook information that is current on the date of project registration, but may elect to incorporate rulings from subsequent Dialogue posts and Petal Handbook updates at their discretion. Project teams are encouraged to check the Dialogue and later editions of the Petal Handbooks to remain up-to-date on new information. Access to the Petal Handbooks is available with an ILFI membership.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Customized assistance is offered by the Institute to support a project team’s process of adopting the principles of LBC and Core. Optional fee-based technical services from ILFI may include custom education, charrette facilitation, feasibility studies, workshops, organizational standards and policy reviews, or other customized consultations. Project teams interested in learning more about technical assistance are encouraged to contact lbc.support@living-future.
WEBSITE
The ILFI website has many additional resources for project teams. It has up-to-date registration and certification fee schedules, case studies of all certified projects, research papers, policy documents, tracking tools, and templates for project teams. Here are some links that project teams may find helpful:
OTHER ILFI PROGRAMS
ILFI offers a number of additional certifications and labels for buildings, products, and businesses. A brief overview of each can be found in the Introduction of the Petal Handbooks, with additional information provided on the ILFI website.
