PETAL INTENT
The intent of the Materials Petal is to help create a materials economy that is non-toxic, ecologically restorative, and transparent. Throughout their life cycle, building materials are responsible for many adverse environmental issues, including personal illness, habitat and species loss, pollution, and resource depletion. The Imperatives in this section aim to remove the worst known offending materials and practices and to drive business toward a truly responsible materials economy. When impacts can be reduced but not eliminated, there is an obligation not only to offset the damaging consequences associated with the construction process, but also to strive for corrections in the industry itself. Over the past decade, the Red List has transformed the building industry from one where ingredients were held in secret to one where transparency is becoming the new normal.
IDEAL CONDITIONS + CURRENT LIMITATIONS
The Living Building Challenge (LBC) envisions a future where all materials in the built environment are regenerative and have no negative impact on human and ecosystem health. The precautionary principle guides all materials decisions when impacts are unclear.
There are significant limitations to achieving the ideal for the materials realm. Product specification and purchase have far-reaching impacts, and although consumers are starting to weigh these in parallel with other more conventional attributes such as aesthetics, function, and cost, the biggest shortcoming is due to the market itself. Transparency is vital; as a global community, the only way we can transform into a truly sustainable society is through open communication and honest information sharing.
Declare®, the Institute’s ingredients label for building products, is a publicly accessible label and online database and is embedded within the Materials Petal. Not only does Declare provide a clear solution to both transparency and documentation for projects, and a means to verify when exceptions are no longer needed, it also provides a forum for sharing the information compiled by a project team as part of their documentation requirements for certification.
