The Living Building Challenge
In 2006, ILFI launched the Living Building Challenge, a holistic green building certification, in an attempt to push the leading edge of the industry far beyond what was thought possible in sustainability at the time. One of the numerous ways in which the program addressed human and environmental health was through the avoidance of toxic chemicals in building products. LBC project teams pursuing the Materials Petal are required to avoid a defined list of substances, known as the Red List.
The LBC Red List
The LBC Red List represents the “worst in class” materials, chemicals, and elements known to pose serious risks to human health and the greater ecosystem. The Red List identifies chemical and material groups (CMG), each of which is composed of a number of individual substances, represented by unique identifiers, known as Chemical Abstract Service Numbers (CASRNs). A list of the currently identified on the Red List along with their descriptions can be found on the Declare website, along with a spreadsheet containing the list of all substances that must be screened for.
The LBC Watch List
Over time, the number of substances identified as harmful in a particular group (CMG) typically expands as we learn more. In order to keep up, ILFI must periodically update the Red List to add new substances. To allow for more regular updates to the Red List, as well as encourage dialogue and engagement with green chemistry experts as well as manufacturers, ILFI released the LBC Watch List in 2019. The Watch List identifies substances that are not yet on the Red List, but are being reviewed by ILFI as candidates in the future. To show the priority of review, some of these chemicals are identified as “Priority for Red List Inclusion”. Only once a chemical has this designation can it be added to the Red List a minimum of 12 months later. This time allows for additional research and gives manufacturers time to prepare for any changes to their Declare label, or any research and development to update their products.
