The demand to understand the health impacts of building products is increasing. Human and environmental health considerations have emerged as crucial factors in material manufacturing and selection.
To make an informed decision we need to know:
Where is it made?
What from?
Where does it go at the end of its life?
Declare has the answers!
Declare provides transparency so you know straight away if a product meets your specification criteria and Living Building Challenge standards.
The program also identifies (and advocates for reduction of) chemicals on the Red List - the worst class ingredients in the building industry.
These chemicals:
- pollute the environment
- bio-accumulate up the food chain until they reach toxic concentrations
- harm construction and factory workers
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Be the first choice for world leading projects
Declare provides a competitive edge by rising above the greenwash and showing consumers they can trust your product.
1. Contact us to discuss your product's specific application requirements and become an LFIA member to get access to our application system.
2. Collate the product ingredient list. Include every intentionally added ingredient down to 100ppm, along with VOC and FSC documentation where applicable. Check out current label profiles and the Manufacturer's Guide for examples (See resources below).
3. Submit your application through an online system. We'll provide a step-by-step guide (+ webinar coming soon!). You can also book in a 30 minute call to go through the steps together.
4. Your application is reviewed and any further required information identified. Once we have all the right info a label is created.
5. The label is published to the online database and you'll receive an invoice for the label fee. We'll include promotion of the label in our digital communications.
Application Resources
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Inform your design decisions with the latest materials science and leading-edge products
Declare provides a free and simple database of the healthiest products on the market. The transparency labels were created from the need of Living Building Challenge project teams who must meet stringent materials requirements within the worlds most rigorous building performance standard.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Declare version 2.0 seeks to push the industry further towards a holistic approach to material health.
There have been a few beneficial adjustments and additions to the program:
- Manufacturers can now report on previously unrecognised impact areas, such as embodied carbon and wood sourcing.
- Additional compliance pathways for chamber testing are available for indoor products considered to have the potential to emit VOCs.
- Multiple final assembly locations can be included on the same label (instead of a separate one for each).
- Compliance with the Healthy Interior Performance and Responsible Sourcing imperatives, are each referenced separately on the label. They no longer impact the Red List status.
- The list of LBC Temporary Exceptions has been consolidated and streamlined to provide manufacturers with clear guidance surrounding each exception’s applicability and purpose.
We send out an email each time a new label is published. This is a new service we are providing, as of April 2020.
If you haven't signed up or not sure if you are receiving them, fill in our mailing list form and select to receive 'Declare Updates'. If you are already on our general list it will give you the option to update your preferences.
You can also visit the Declare database and select Location > Australia to see what's current.
In Declare 2.0 there are 3 possible compliance statuses for the Red List. The status is depends upon the level of transparency provided, whether the product relies on an exception, and whether there are any Red List ingredients present.
Full explanation here.
The compliance status for Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions and Responsible Sourcing (of timber) are now separate items on the label.
The Red List represents the “worst in class” materials, chemicals, and elements known to pose serious risks to human health and the greater ecosystem that are prevalent in the building products industry. The International Living Future Institute worked with the Healthy Building Network and the Pharos Project to develop the Red List, and new items will be added as research and information becomes available.
The Watch List is also now available so that you can plan manufacturing and specification standard changes ahead of time. The chemicals listed will be added to the Red List at its next iteration.
Download the full list (Excel file).
Label remain current for one year, and must be renewed prior to the expiry date to remain in the database. We contact the manufacturer prior to expiry to ensure that if there have been modifications to the product ingredients they are reported and reflected on the renewed label.
Timing depends on the complexity of your product and the accuracy of information provided at the start of the application. However we suggest planning for 4-6 weeks from initial enquiry to a published label.
Contact us for more information or questions on a specific product: australia @ living-future.org
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