Halogenated Flame Retardants (HFRs)
HFRs include PBDE, TBBPA, HBCD, Deca-BDE, TCPP, TCEP, Dechlorane Plus and other flame retardants with bromine or chlorine.
Handprinting
Handprinting is a compliance pathway that acknowledges the net positive impacts a project can create beyond the boundaries of the project site.
Handprints
Handprints are beneficial changes to environmental and social impacts. They are reported in positive numbers to represent positive impacts, in contrast to so-called footprints, which represent negative impacts. The reference point for the positive contribution is Business As Usual (BAU), which is essentially the typical way of doing something or the way it’s been done in the past.
Additional information on handprinting can be found in the Living Product Challenge 2.0 Handbook, and for building project teams, also in the Early Project Guidebook.
Harvest On-Site
The removal of natural products from the project property with the intention to use them in the project.
Hazardous Materials
Materials that have been deemed dangerous or carcinogenic for humans or the environment and/ or materials that exhibit one or more of the following properties: ignitibility, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity. Hazardous materials include asbestos, lead paint, or materials producing ionizing radiation, and must be disposed of in a specific manner, in accordance with local regulations.
Hazardous Waste
Waste that includes hazardous materials. Hazardous waste is required to be processed by a hazardous waste facility.
Historic Hydrology
The historic hydrology of a site reflects its condition in an undeveloped state. See the Historic Hydrology clarification for additional information on how this definition is applied to the requirements of the Water Petal.
Homogenous Materials
A uniform solid, liquid or gas composed of one or more substances that cannot be mechanically disjointed, in principle. It may be a chemical formulation or compound; a substance of unknown or variable composition, complex reaction product, or biological material (UVCB); or a combination of the two. Coatings and finishes such as plating, powder coats, enamels, etc., are considered unique homogenous materials” (Clean Production Action, 2015).
Human-Powered Lifestyle
A way of living that relies primarily on the power of human muscles to transport people and goods.
Human Scaled
Human scale is about the experience of a space as a pedestrian, rather than as a motorist. A built environment at human scale is “legible” when one is on foot or up close, and detail and texture can be perceived by sight or touch.
Hydroponics
A subset of hydroculture: a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil.
Infiltration
The process by which liquids, typically stormwater runoff, flows into and through the subsurface soil.
Ingredient
A discrete chemical, polymer, metal, bio-based material or other substance that exists in the finished product as delivered to site.
In Situ Materials
Existing materials in their original position on a project site that are fit for reuse or will be incapsulated or otherwise covered from view. In-situ materials do not require re-installation and may or may not require refurbishment.
Interior Materials
Permanently installed materials included in the wall, floor, ceiling finishes, and partitions of the building. This does not include miscellaneous items or moveable components such as furnishings, fixtures, or equipment.
Invasive Species
A species that is non-native to the ecosystem under consideration and whose presence harms human or ecosystem health.
Just Label
A label for organizations to disclose social equity ratings attained through the Just program.
Just Program
A voluntary disclosure tool and transparency platform for organizations to disclose social equity information.
Just Self-Assessment
A tool to help organizations social equity performance based on the Just program standard. This tool is meant for internal use not for public disclosure like the Just label.
Key Ecosystem Attributes
Broad categories developed as part of restoration standards to assist practitioners with evaluating the degree to which biotic and abiotic properties and functions of an ecosystem are recovering. In the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) Guidelines. Includes six identified categories: absence of threats, physical conditions, species composition, community structure, ecosystem functionality, and external exchanges. Complexity, self-organization, resilience, and sustainability of ecosystems typically increase with the attainment of these attributes.
Landscape Remnant
A pre-settlement native plant community or a plant community that has survived on a site to the present day.
Landscape Restoration
Reversion of a plant community back to a pre-determined state (such as pre-settlement) through management. Restorations usually involve removing a plant community that has taken over a native ecosystem or remnant and are often supplemented with seeds from plants that are native to the site.
Landscape Succession
The gradual evolution of vegetation toward a more complex and ecologically appropriate state.
Land Trust
A nonprofit organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation easement acquisition, or by its stewardship of such land or easements.
Leachate
The liquid that is leftover after the composting of organic waste.
LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTBE)
LGBTBE is a certification program administered by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) for eligible businesses that are majority-owned by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. See https://www.nglcc.org/get-certified for more information.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
A method to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product’s life cycle (i.e., from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair, maintenance, and disposal or recycling). Defined as compliant with the International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 14044 standards.
Livestock
Animals kept or raised for food production, including cattle, sheep, bees, and similar animals.
Local
Of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular place: not general or widespread; primarily serving the needs of a particular limited district. ILFI programs may have more delimited definitions (e.g., of certain distances or qualities) articulated in program requirements.
Low Risk Wood
Low risk is defined as a source country with a score of 80 or higher as reported on the The Nature, Economy and People Connected tool, where the country has laws and a low rating for both the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and Protected Sites and Species Sub-categories, and laws in at least 13 additional Sub-categories, including one law in each of the five Legal Categories. Reference tool: https://www.nepcon.org/
hub/timber
Manufacturer
A person or company that makes goods for sale. Items used in manufacture may be raw materials, assemblies or component parts of a larger product.
Manufacturer Location (“Final Facility”, “Final Assembly Location”)
The final point of assembly, fabrication or manufacture of a system, product or building material.
Materials Construction Budget
The total cost of all permanently installed materials and systems furniture delivered to the site, excluding labor, soft costs and land. See additional information regarding calculation methods under the Materials Construction Budget Clarification in LBC.
Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE)
MBE is a certification program administered by NWBOC for eligible businesses that are majority-owned by a racial or ethnic minority. See https://www.nwboc.org/basicinfo.html for more information.
Miscellaneous Hardware
Miscellaneous hardware is a single component or very simple assembly, that requires no on-site assembly, often aids in the installation of a larger product or system onsite, and is able to be quickly installed by a single tradesperson.
Multifamily Residence
Multifamily residence applies to a Project Boundary (referred to as Project Area in LBC 4.0 and Core Green Building Certification) that covers more than one “dwelling unit”, defined as a single unit designed for human habitation with permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation.
Municipal Potable Water
Water supplied by a city or town, or other large- scaled water systems operating at a similar scale to a municipal water system.
National Women Business Owners Corporation (NWBOC)
NWBOC is a third-party business certifying entity that administers certifications such as women-owned business enterprise (WBE), minority-owned business enterprise (MBE), and veteran-owned business enterprise (VBE). See https://www.nwboc.org/ for additional information.
Native Prairies
Diverse ecosystems dominated by grasses and other flowering plants called forbs; for the LBC native prairies can be either “landscape remnants” or “landscape restorations.”
Naturalized Plant
A plant that was introduced, but is established as if native: that is, having established sufficient population size to maintain itself in the environment, but not so abundant that it becomes invasive, dominating the system and outcompeting native species. Invasive plants that endanger native plants or ecosystems, that function without meaningful ecological checks on their abundance, are not considered naturalized for the purposes of the LBC.
Natural Lands Conservation
Natural Lands Conservation seeks the sustainable use of nature by humans, which could allow, for example, extraction of natural resources if done in a manner that permits their persistence for future generations. It includes maintaining diversity of species, genes, and ecosystems, as well as functions of the environment, such as nutrient cycling.
Natural Lands Preservation
Natural Lands Preservation prevents human use of a site for the protection of its biodiversity and the quality of ecosystem functions.
Net Operating Income
Net operating income is the measurement of an organization’s available income once operating expenses have been subtracted from its gross revenues. For the purposes of ILFI programs, this figure excludes debt payments with associated interest and capital expenditures. This figure may not include depreciation, owner draws/owner distribution payments, or equity payments.
Non-binary
The term non-binary is widely used to describe a gender identity that cannot be categorized as either masculine or feminine. Non-binary covers a wide range of gender experience; people identifying as non-binary could experience their gender as a combination of male and female, neither male nor female, or as something completely independent of notions of conventional gender identities. For further information regarding gender-based and other identities, visit Outright International or pflag.
Non-governmental Organization (NGO)
A nonprofit organization that operates independently of any government, typically one whose purpose is to address a social or political issue.
Non-potable Water
Water that does not meet state and federal drinking water standards for human consumption, but is suitable for other low risk uses, such as toilet flushing, irrigation or laundry. The following uses are considered non-potable for purposes of compliance with I06 Net Positive Water: toilet and urinal flushing, landscape irrigation, cooling tower makeup supply, laundry, miscellaneous processes (e.g., equipment washing, dust prevention, etc.)
Oceania
For purposes of ILFI programs, Oceania is defined as Australia, New Zealand, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
Old-Growth Forest
Natural forests that have developed over a long period of time, generally at least 120 years, without
experiencing severe, stand-replacing disturbance such as a fire, windstorm, or logging. Ecosystems distinguished by old trees and related structural attributes that may include tree size, accumulations of large dead woody material, number of canopy layers, species composition, and ecosystem function.
On-Site Harvest
On-site harvest is the removal of natural products from the project property with the intention to use them in the project.
On-Site Landscape
The planted area not used to comply with the requirements of Imperative 02, Urban Agriculture.
Operational Carbon
The greenhouse gas emissions associated with building energy consumption. (B6 as defined by EN 15978).
Operational Energy
The energy used during the service life of a structure to power base systems, such as lighting, heating, cooling, and ventilating systems. Operational Energy is differentiated from Process Energy, which is energy used to support a manufacturing, industrial, or commercial process that may be housed in a building.
Operations and Maintenance Manual
A document containing information about the building’s various systems, including any ongoing actions the owner or property manager must take to ensure continuous optimization of the building’s function and performance.
Part-Time Employment
Part-time employment is ongoing, but for fewer than 30 hours per week.
Performance Period
A continuous 12-month period used for evaluating project performance. The performance period does not have to commence at the beginning of occupancy.
Permaculture
The conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems that have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against, nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation; of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system.
Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins (PBTs)
Substances that do not easily break down in nature and tend to accumulate in species. As a result, they may be highly problematic even at low levels of release into the environment, as they bioaccumulate up the food chain leaving top predators with problematic levels of toxins in they bodies and causing irreversible harm.
Polyculture
Agriculture using multiple crops in the same space, in imitation of the diversity of natural ecosystems, and avoiding large stands of single crops, or monoculture.
Portfolio
For the purposes of the Living Building Challenge, a portfolio is multiple buildings that are owned by the same entity, but are spread out through a community or larger area.
Potable Water
Water that is fit for human consumption. In the US, potable water typically meets state and federal drinking water standards.
Pre-Development Hydrology
The combination of runoff, infiltration, and evapotranspiration rates and volumes that typically existed on a site before human-induced land disturbance occurred.
Previously Developed
A site with existing or historic structures or on-site infrastructure, or a site that has experienced disturbance related to building activity, including monoculture agriculture. Roads built for natural resource extraction (e.g., logging roads or mining areas) do not qualify a site as previously developed.
Primary Dune
A continuous or nearly continuous mound or ridge of sand with relatively steep seaward and landward slopes immediately landward and adjacent to the beach and subject to erosion and overtopping from high tides and waves during major coastal storms. The inland limit of the primary frontal dune occurs at the point where there is a distinct change from a relatively steep slope to a relatively mild slope.
Primary Materials
The permanently installed building components that make up the majority of the structural, foundation and enclosure systems of a building.
Prime Farmland
Land that has been used for agricultural production at some time during the four years prior to the relevant Important Farmland Map date, or in the four years prior to the project, and where the soil meets the physical and chemical criteria for prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance as determined by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
Priority Natural Lands
Priority Natural Lands include Pristine Greenfields, Wilderness, Prime Farmland, the 100-year Floodplain, and Thriving Vibrant Ecological Habitats and Environments.
Pristine Greenfield
Land that has not been impacted by humans and maintains thriving, viable habitat. Land that has not been developed, but has been altered and degraded through ranching, mono-culture agriculture, crowding, pollution or other means is not considered pristine greenfield.
Process Chemical
Process chemicals are defined as chemicals used in the manufacturing process in the final manufacturing facility that come into contact with the product pursuing certification. For example, surfactants, solvents and lubricants in the product manufacture are to be considered. General cleaning products used in the facility are not included.
Process Energy
Energy consumed to support a manufacturing, industrial, or commercial process. This is in contrast to Operational Energy which is energy used during the service life of a structure to power base systems, such as lighting, heating, cooling, and ventilating systems.
Process Water
Water required to produce the product at the final facility, including but not limited to water used for material production, machine operation, and rinsing.
Product
A finished good composed of one or more homogeneous materials that are in turn made up of chemical substances, or a combination of one or more materials and substance(s), or one or more substances. A product may be made of one or more homogeneous materials. A product may also be organized into parts, which are in turn made up of one or more homogeneous materials. A product may also function as part of another product (Health Product Declaration Collaborative).
Product Category Rules (PCR)
A set of defined rules necessary for developing an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for products fulfilling the same function. PCRs follow international standards such as ISO 14025 and enable transparency and comparability between product EPDs.
Product Share Pathway
The Product Share pathway allows a manufacturer to certify a product, or products, that require(s) only a limited fraction of a facility’s production capacity. This pathway requires a manufacturer to offset only the impact of the product pursuing certification on-site, when the production of that product accounts for less than 75% of the facility’s total output by dollar value or weight. A Product Share of Net Positive Energy, Water and Waste includes all process energy used to make the product as well as its share of facility lighting, heating and cooling. Worker water usage, waste treatment, administrative office energy and water use and facility-wide stormwater management are excluded from the Product Share certification requirements.
Project Area (applicable only to LBC 4.0 and Core Green Building Certification)
The entire scope of the project and all areas disturbed by the project work including areas of construction, staging and conveyance, which is typically, but not necessarily, all land within the property line. Project Area must be consistent across all Imperatives.
Project Boundary (referred to as Project Area in LBC 4.0 and Core Green Building Certification)
The entire scope of the project and all areas disturbed by the project work including areas of construction, staging and conveyance, which is typically, but not necessarily, all land within the property line. The Project Boundary must be consistent across all Imperatives.
See additional requirements for defining the Project Boundary under Cross-Petal Compliance Details.
Project Floor Area (referred to as Gross Building Area in LBC 4.0 and earlier)
New Construction, Building Renovation, Landscape + Infrastructure
For projects under the New Construction and Building Renovation typologies and buildings within a Landscape + Infrastructure project, the Project Floor Area is the sum of all areas on all floors of a building included within the outside faces of its exterior walls, including all vertical penetration areas, areas for circulation, and shaft areas that connect one floor to another. The Project Floor Area also includes structured parking, but does NOT include unenclosed exterior spaces such as decks, patios, or balconies, or exterior surface parking.
Interior Typology
For Interior projects, the Project Floor Area must encompass the gross area of the building to be included in the certification as measured from the centerline of the walls defining the space. The Project Floor Area must include all areas within the scope of work for the project and define a space that is physically and visually distinct from the non-certifying parts of the building. The distinctions may be created by walls, halls, and/or separation by floor.
See additional requirements for defining the Project Floor Area under the Cross-Petal Compliance Details.
Project Water Discharge
All water leaving the building or site including stormwater, greywater, and black water.
Public Art
Art displayed for the benefit of the general public.
