Materials Pledge Starter Guide

We pledge to support human health by preferring materials and products which support and foster life throughout their life cycles and seek to eliminate the use of hazardous substances. 

Where to start 

1. Request transparency in ingredients and health impacts from manufacturers. Transparency and disclosure documentation include Health Product Declarations, Declare Label, Living Products, Cradle2Cradle, BIFMA LEVEL, OEKO-TEX, and others. 
2. Eliminate “red list,” or problematic, chemicals from specifications. The International Living Future Institute’s Red List is one example of a restricted substance list. Others include the Green Science Policy Institute’s Six Classes and Cradle to Cradle Banned Chemicals List. 
3. Integrate VOC limits and emissions test requirement thresholds into your standard specifications. Make sure to address both VOC limits and emission tests for a more holistic assessment of health impacts. 

Resources 

• AIA-CLF Embodied Carbon Toolkit for Architects: A resource that provides architects with an overview and the necessary steps to be taken to reduce embodied carbon in their projects. 
• AIA Healthier Materials Protocol: Gain practical insights and methods into incorporating healthier materials into your next project. 
• 5 ways healthier materials will enhance your business: Here are five benefits to using the protocol in your everyday practice. 
• How the materials you choose affect our health: Discover actions you can take to reduce negative long-term health issues for occupants. 
• Health Product Declarations (HPDs): Find out everything an architect needs to know about HPDs, from what they are to how to use them. 

We pledge to support social health and equity by preferring materials and products from manufacturers who secure human rights in their own operations and in their supply chains, and which provide positive impacts for their workers and the communities where they operate. 

Where to start 

1. Ask manufacturers for supplier codes of conduct. Make sure that they require their supply chain sources to comply with human rights guidelines. 
2. Research & document social hot spots and/or human rights and labor risks for at least 2 commonly specified products. Download Grace Farm’s Design for Freedom report or use the Social Hotspot Database for more guidance and information. 
3. Select at least 2 products each that meet requirements of abolition of forced labor, elimination of child labor, freedom of association, and equality. Reference International Labour Organisation Core Convention for further detail regarding the rights of human beings at work. The LEED pilot credit Social Equity within the Supply Chain also has a list of company and product certifications that demonstrate compliance with the ILO standard.   

How your material choices impact systemic racial injustice 

• Materials toxicity affects environmental justice of “fenceline” communities living near manufacturing sites. Those manufacturing sites often disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) with little recourse against bad offenders. As demand for better materials optimizes out toxics, neighboring communities will have healthier outcomes. 
• Child labor, modern slavery, discrimination, barriers to freedom of association, and poor health and safety standards affect the most vulnerable communities across the globe. From forced Uighurs labor in China to child labor in Congolese mines, addressing these issues through industry demand will improve the outlook of marginalized communities worldwide. 
• Secondary building materials markets tend to be hyper local and can spur community prosperity. Creating a viable secondary market can provide new business opportunities for local BIPOC entrepreneurs to invest in their own communities. 

We pledge to support ecosystem health by preferring materials and products which support and regenerate the natural air, water, and biological cycles of life through thoughtful supply chain management and restorative company practices. 

Where to start 

1. Ask manufacturers for information about the impacts of their raw material procurement and manufacturing processes including to water, air, and soil near their facilities. 
2. Require EPDs from manufacturers. Read more about Environmental Product Declarations. 
3. Identify high impact material types for initial assessment of primary environmental impacts. Some material types you might consider are petroleum-based plastics and foams; metals, wood, and other structural materials; and agricultural-based materials. 
4. Specify products with certifications that require environmental stewardship, including Declare label, Living Product Challenge, Cradle to Cradle, FSC, NSC 337 Stone certification, etc. 

Resources 

• How the materials you choose to build with affect our environment: It’s easier than ever to choose materials that have a positive impact on our planet. 
• 12 rules for selecting environmentally responsible building products and materials: A simple approach to selecting better, healthier, and more environmentally responsible building products and materials. 
• Environmental Product Declaration (EPD): The Environmental Product Declaration® is a report resulting from a life cycle assessment. 

We pledge to support climate health by preferring materials and products that reduce carbon emissions and ultimately sequester more carbon than emitted. 

Where to start 

1. Ask for transparency in carbon impacts of material ingredients. This can be found in EPDs. 
2. Build whole building Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) into your practice. Focus first on using LCAs to select materials and systems that reduce your building’s carbon impact, and then compare other available LCA impact categories. Read more about Life Cycle Assessments. 
3. Use low-carbon and carbon sequestering materials. This can transform our buildings from carbon emitters to carbon sinks. 
4. Start by evaluating the highest-impact materials and work down: structure, envelope, wallboard, flooring, insulation, ductwork, ceiling panels, etc. 
5. Advocate for policies and practices that impose greater transparency of, and limits on, the global warming impacts of building products and interior materials, and for investment in tools that enable us to select low-carbon and carbon storing materials. 

Resources 

• Renovate, Retrofit, Reuse: Uncover the hidden value in America’s existing building stock to reduce global carbon emissions. 
• 10 steps to reducing embodied carbon: By following these steps before construction begins, you can make a major dent in carbon impacts. 
• Building products matter even more than we thought: Materials are a big part of the solution to climate change. 
• The big materials dream needs to include climate change and more: The product transparency movement remains a huge priority for the industry, so there's no better time to bring it into balance with climate change. 
• How the materials you choose to build with affect our environment: It’s easier than ever to choose materials that have a positive impact on our planet. 
• Embodied Carbon 101 series: Learn how to measure, manage, and implement practical solutions from expert practitioners. 

We pledge to support a circular economy by reusing and improving buildings, and by designing for resiliency, adaptability, disassembly, and reuse—aspiring to a zero-waste goal for global construction activities. 

Where to start 

1. Renovate, retrofit, and reuse. Advocate for teams and clients to reuse and improve existing building stock and salvaged building materials. Take advantage of the strong financial and carbon reduction arguments. 
2. Design new buildings with a plan for future ease of disassembly or with a strategy for how the building may be reused in the future. Explore strategies that can make disassembly and reuse easier. 
3. Reduce construction waste. Consider modular design and off-site construction to increase efficiency in the entire construction process. 
4. Select materials and furnishings that can be recycled into the same type of material. Alternatively, select materials and furnishings from manufacturers with active product leasing or takeback programs. 
5. Require manufacturers to publish end-of-life strategies. Encourage end-of-life-cycle assessments (Module “D”) for all building materials. 

Resources 

• Modular and Off-site Construction Guide: Reduce material input and waste in your projects and save client time and money along the way! 
• Renovate, Retrofit, Reuse: Uncover the hidden value in America’s existing building stock to reduce global carbon emissions. 
• Design for Adaptability, Deconstruction, and Reuse: Explore strategies for designing for adaptability, deconstruction, and reuse to capitalize on their benefits. 
• Building life cycle assessment in practice: An AIA guide to LCA: Incorporate LCA methodology as part of the design process using these clear principles. 
• The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certified™ Product Standard: The C2C Certified Product Standard rates consumer products in five categories.