This collection of Petal Handbooks describes the rule sets or “body of law” for achieving all Imperatives within the Living Product Challenge 2.0. They should be used in conjunction with the Living Product Challenge Standard 2.0. These rules apply to products registered under LPC 2.0. Manufacturers must follow all rules in place at the time of their registration, including requirements in the most recently updated Petal Handbooks and all Dialogue posts. Rules established in Petal Handbook updates subsequent to a manufacturer’s registration date may be followed at the manufacturer’s discretion.
IMPERATIVES
Each Imperative section consists of an Imperative overview, including an intent statement and the standard requirements that must be met, Clarifications, Exceptions, Calculation instructions (if applicable), Documentation Requirements, and Resources. It additionally outlines any changes that have occurred between the previous version of the standard and the current version.
Seven Core Imperatives are identified throughout the LPC Standard, one in each Petal. Core Imperatives must be met by all projects pursuing any level of certification under the LPC.
CLARIFICATIONS AND EXCEPTIONS
This handbook contains both Clarifications of program requirements and Exceptions that consolidate Dialogue posts and the footnotes from the Standard to provide a simplified and consistent set of rules for easy reference.
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. Manufacturers must reference the appropriate Exception numbers when submitting Dialogue posts and documentation for assessment.
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 to provide consistency across programs.
QUARTERLY UPDATES
The Petal Handbooks will be updated quarterly to reflect clarifications and changes from the Dialogue, 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 manufacturers wish to reference previous versions of the handbook, they may download PDFs of the original Petal Handbooks or of any subsequent quarterly update.
