This collection of Petal Handbooks describes the rule sets or “body of law” for achieving all Imperatives within the Living Building Challenge 4.0. They should be used in conjunction with the Living Building Challenge Standard 4.0 and the Early Project Guidebook, which highlights requirements that determine basic feasibility for Core (and Living Building Challenge) projects and provides guidance on elements that classify the project for purposes of certification, including Typology, Project Area, and Living Transect designation. These rules apply to projects registered under LBC 4.0. Project teams must follow all rules in place at the time of their registration, including requirements in the most recently updated Petal Handbooks. Rules established in Petal Handbook updates subsequent to a project team’s registration date may be followed at the team’s discretion.
IMPERATIVES
Each Imperative section consists of an Imperative overview, including requirements that must be met, Clarifications, Exceptions, Calculation instructions, Scale Jumping information, Documentation Requirements, Case Studies, and Resources.
In addition, the Core icon is used throughout to indicate which Imperatives are Core Imperatives. Core Imperatives must be met by all projects pursuing any level of certification under the LBC and all projects pursuing Core Green Building Certification. Note that the Core Imperatives also comprise the stand alone Core Green Building Standard. While LBC and Core share Imperatives, they are numbered differently in Core. Where Core Imperatives are referenced throughout the Petal Handbooks, the Core number appears in parentheses after the Imperative name.
CLARIFICATIONS AND EXCEPTIONS
Clarifications elaborate on the intent and requirements of the Standard, providing more specific guidance on terminology, application, and implementation for each Imperative. Clarifications are generally listed in alphabetical order, and are sometimes divided into clarification sub-categories within an Imperative, for more complex topics that require multiple clarifications.
Exceptions reflect current regulatory barriers or market realities and are therefore temporary. Exceptions will be phased out over time as regulations are updated and new technologies or materials become available. Each Exception listed in the Petal Handbook is identified with a two letter abbreviation connected to the relevant Petal, and a unique number, for example PL-004 is the fourth exception of the Place Petal. Materials Petal (MT) exceptions also have specific Red List exceptions notated with the RL- prefix. Note that Exceptions will not always be sequential within an Imperative, as new Exceptions are added in Quarterly Petal Handbook updates. Project teams must reference the appropriate Exception numbers when submitting Requests for Ruling and documentation for audit.
Regional Equivalencies
In some cases the Institute has approved equivalent tools or reference standards for use by all applicable projects within a specific region. Where approved equivalencies exist, they are listed under Approved Regional Equivalencies.
GLOSSARY
An ILFI Program Glossary is included with the Petal Handbooks in order to define terminology used throughout the handbooks, and to provide an easily accessible reference for both general and program-specific language. This glossary is used for all of ILFI’s programs, including the Living Product Challenge, Declare, and the Living Community Challenge, to provide consistency across programs.
QUARTERLY UPDATES
The Petal Handbooks will be updated quarterly to reflect broadly applicable rulings from the Request for Ruling process, add clarifying text, tables or graphics, and/or make any other amendments or additions necessary for improving the clarity and content of the handbook. Quarterly updates will occur in January, April, July, and October of each year, at which time the online Petal Handbooks will be revised and the cover sheet time stamped with the latest revision date. With each quarterly update, a list of revisions will be published, summarizing all changes implemented in that update. The list of revisions will be organized by Petal and Imperative, and will indicate the location of the change within the Petal Handbooks, as well as a brief description of the change. Should project teams wish to reference previous versions of the handbook, they may download pdfs of the original Petal Handbook or of any subsequent quarterly update.
