IES Unveils Healthy Materials Management System in Partnership With International Living Future Institute
NORTH ADAMS, Mass., May 9, 2018 /3BL Media/ - Finding building materials that won’t harm human health is now simpler and easier with the introduction of Red2Green (R2G), a new platform that slashes the time and effort required to pursue the ambitious requirements of the Living Building Challenge by crowdsourcing and documenting key materials health data for building and construction materials.
“Pioneering design teams no longer need to start from scratch identifying Red List materials. With R2G, each project builds on the last, crowdsourcing vital information that will help make healthy buildings and regenerative design the norm,” said Charley Stevenson, IES owner and principal. “R2G was created by architects and construction professionals, for our peers.”
R2G’s interactive platform is organized by product type—from framing and wet-applied finishes to plumbing and electrical equipment – and assesses chemical composition and off-gassing potential; documents sustainably harvested wood parts; determines manufacturing proximity; and weighs manufacturers’ transparency about products. Results are shared among all users, ensuring a growing and constantly improving information library.
R2G was developed by Integrated Eco Strategy (IES), a Massachusetts-based firm that helps institutions, designers, consultants and others achieve sustainable and regenerative building design, renovation and construction. Coinciding with the industry-wide release of R2G, IES has partnered with the non-profit International Living Future Institute (ILFI), which administers the Living Building Challenge (LBC) program—the world’s most rigorous performance standard for buildings. At the Living Future unConference 2018 held May 1-4 in Portland, Oregon, ILFI presented R2G as an important platform for those seeking to build using the healthiest materials available.
“Red2Green helps accelerate our goal of a Living Future by simplifying the materials selection process for Living Buildings,” said James Connelly, vice president of products and strategic growth for ILFI, “It is a platform with potential to transform the marketplace for healthy materials by making the research process clear, simplifying materials selection and organizing project audit documentation, all in one place.”
R2G supports LBC “materials petal” compliance—specifically that buildings use products and materials free of the worst-in-class toxins. ILFI and IES stressed that although IES will license R2G, it is a neutral platform and now available to all project teams, including independent sustainability consultants. IES will train and support other firms to become experts in using it, helping the LBC community grow more quickly.
IES was founded in 2010 to provide client-focused, high-value green building services. Recent IES projects include the Class of 1966 Environmental Center at Williams College, Williamstown; R.W. Kern Center at Hampshire College, and Hitchcock Center for the Environment, both in Amherst; and Yale Divinity School Campus, New Haven CT.
The International Living Future Institute is an environmental NGO committed to catalyzing the transformation toward communities that are socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative. ILFI operates the Living Building Challenge, the built environment's most advanced performance standard.
Integrated Eco Strategy provides material/product research support via a proprietary healthy materials database: Red2Green. For additional information, visit materiallybetter.com.
