Category: Sustainable Action
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Breathing Action into the AIA Materials Pledge
Partnering with our consultants enables you to assume a leadership role in this pivotal movement. As an architect, you have a distinctive opportunity to spearhead initiatives for the materials movement and demonstrate how effortlessly the AIA Materials Pledge can be transformed from mere words into meaningful actions. Read more
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Owner Benefits of Healthier Building Materials
Collaborating with our consultants allows you to play a pivotal role in this transformative journey because as an owner you have the unique ability to set goals and direct stakeholders in the selection and installation of thoroughly vetted, healthier materials that reduce embodied carbon and protect and enhance human health and well-being. Read more
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Plastics: Versatile? Yes. Problematic? Also Yes.
Plastic pollution has permeated both natural and built environments, leading to significant concerns for its impact on human health, degradation of ecosystems, and an alarming toll taken on marine species—including those that once enriched our diets. Read more
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The Power of Making Better Choices: Reflections from Greenbuild
The collective mindset at events like Greenbuild is what makes them so powerful, with presenters and attendees from corporate, governmental, and not-for-profit organizations engaging in conversation and collaboration. We move forward as we share knowledge and align our efforts. No one is going to win sustainability; we are all in this together. Read more
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Making It Easier: Collaborative Approaches for Better Choices
Rather than allowing the concept of easy to lull us into complacency as we wait for the discovery of a one-size-fits-all solution, perhaps a more productive question is: how can we unify our message to keep the market moving toward healthy and sustainable product selection across all product types? Read more
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How do I Reduce Embodied Carbon in My Building?
When it comes to building projects, embodied carbon is increasingly recognized as a critical part of climate action. If your organization wants to reduce embodied carbon in your building projects, what can you do? That depends on your project. Read more
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Why Are We So Sick—and What Can We Do?
As many of us age, some start to wonder why we don’t feel so good anymore. Millions experience chronically occurring diseases and conditions that have developed in us over our lifetimes. Health care costs alone, according to PLANSPONSOR magazine, are estimated at $285,000 for a retired couple! Read more
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How Healthier Products Embody Social Justice
The Materially Better Team believes that seeking healthier building products presents substantial opportunities for addressing social, racial and environmental justice issues. Here is why: Read more
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Reducing Embodied Carbon in New Construction or Renovation
Planning new construction or renovation? Renovations vary tremendously in scope. The closer a renovation gets to a “full gut”, the closer the embodied carbon emissions become when comparing renovation with comparable new construction. Read more
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Flame Retardants: A Cautionary Tale
We all have moments when our personal and professional lives intersect. For me a particularly poignant moment involved a couch and my first Living Building Challenge project. I was just starting research on products, learning about chemicals of concern and, more important, exactly where they are used in building products. Including furniture. Read more