The impact of Living Future Accreditation: Celebrating Bold Actions

Having recently concluded our 15th annual Living Future Conference (LF21), there’s still plenty of renewed energy and motivation swirling around this community. Learning alongside the brilliant, inspiring speakers and so many curious, passionate, and supportive attendees is an inspiring call to take action!

Speaking of which: at this year’s event, ILFI has started a new tradition to celebrate Living Future Accredited individuals who have taken bold action towards a Living Future for all.

Living Future Accreditation (LFA) is the professional credential that recognizes proficiency in the world’s most ambitious, advanced, and holistic sustainable design standards. Furthermore, LFA is not only a credential to display your expertise — it also deepens your knowledge and empowers your work towards making our communities socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative.

Dozens of learners leveraged their LFA in the past year by working on a project team, becoming an Ambassador, and/or speaking at LF21. If you weren’t at the conference, or simply want to relive this celebration, check out the list below. We’ll be expanding it soon to include the full legacy of LFA professionals since 2014 who have applied their credential to make an impact.

• “I’ve decided to talk to every client about Zero Carbon. France has a national zero carbon goal, and I think ZC is a great tool for getting there. We have (with Vitali Caplain) one registered ZC project, one possible campus and one other interiors project. As a designer, I advocate for companies to seek Just and Declare labels, and as an Ambassador I organize events (webinars lately) to spread the word!” –Lenna Lockwood, LFA in Île-de-France, France 
• “As an Ambassador, I have presented the Ambassador slide deck to 30+ organizations over the past few years and finally landed my first LBC project in 2021! I also completed the JUST label for our firm a few years ago and renewed under 2.0 this year.” –Lauren McNeill, LFA in Colorado, United States
• “It has helped me identify various entry points on projects and increase my design vocabulary. This is essential because the Living Building Challenge calls for a fundamental shift in modes of practice. Its novelty is intimidating and carries with it a high perceived pain of adoption. My LFA is helping me navigate this and more.” –Thulani Kuzwayo, LFA in Gauteng, South Africa

• “I completed a 21,000 ft² honey processing facility that has been set up to become [Zero Energy Certified] in the next year or so with the addition of solar panels to offset all electrical use. I have been talking with the City Manager … about Living Community Challenge and Living Building Challenge because the City is planning a 70 acre expansion … [they may] build a showcase building as a part of this, and we may be able to use LBC as the certification system for that project. I’ve been educating my clients about the evils of vinyl. So far I’ve talked a few people out of LVT! I’m working on a presentation for my contractor friends to teach them and their employees about LBC.”  –Dee Rosenberg, LFA in California, United States
• “I stopped talking about it and just designed projects to meet [Core Green Building Certification] whether the client wants it or not. I keep going unless they tell me to stop, then I keep going anyway!” –Scott Kelly, LFA in Pennsylvania, United States

• “Krueger International has identified and [is] in the process of reducing our carbon footprint. We have reduced our energy consumption by over 10% in 2020. KI is committed to chemical disclosures by adding 12 more DECLARE products to its portfolio.” –Robin Kunstmann, LFA in Wisconsin, United States
• “I have made several recommendations to arts-related organizations and their leaders to pursue the JUST program.” –Meghan Pursell, LFA in California, United States

• “Gaining my LFA has helped me to maintain focus on regenerative design in both project work and carbon research. The Living Future community is a supportive resource when I have questions and a source of empowerment in encouraging me to step out and step up. ILFI also helps me to remember that it is okay to share ideas and contribute from wherever I am on a given day. We don’t need all the answers to move forward; we just need to bring what we have to the table and remember that we’re in this together.” –Jesce Walz, LFA in Washington, United States

PROVIDED TEAM LEADERSHIP

• “I have become an internal resource for sustainability and LBC related information in the office.” –Matthew Kirkpatrick, LFA in Oregon, United States
• “I have used the principles and ideas presented in the LFA training material to help guide higher levels of performance within my firm, that launched this year with a focus on tackling these ideas.” –Andrew Queenan, LFA in Michigan, United States
• “LFA has provided the tools to help my team of real estate professionals and licensed realtors become agents of change in their communities, deepen their professional knowledge, expand networks, and elevate the dialogue with our/their clients. It’s a cornerstone for our work at Latitude | Regenerative Real Estate. I have also thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my fellow [LFA professionals] around the globe and plan to continue deepening these relationships. It’s a group of folks who I care to work with and spend time with.” –Alissa Collins, LFA in Oregon, United States
• “I provided education and resources to fellow staff members interested in learning more about the multitude of opportunities with ILFI. I look forward to growing [my local network] and educating our community about the possibilities of ‘what if…’” –Dan Kalkman, LFA in Wisconsin, United States

AND MORE!

• “I’ve led a biophilic workshop – feedback was that it was fun and inspirational! I’m working with our local [ILFI network group] to figure out what good looks like for the volunteer opportunities we have, and the ones we have yet to create. I’m now a regular presenter on Living Buildings and biophilia at a local university (at least 1x per semester lately), which is really exciting, and THE STUDENTS HAVE SUCH GOOD QUESTIONS! It’s so exciting to engage with our future leaders and hear what they’re thinking about.” –Kristen Suzda, LFA in Pennsylvania, United States
• “[I’ve leveraged my LFA] in making new connections and furthering discussions with other governmental staff on best practices to improve, integrate, and elevate green building methodology and policy.” –James Strand, LFA in California, United States
• “It’s difficult to summarize how I’ve leveraged my LFA over the past year, because it has had such a profound and far-stretching impact on my life perspective. Earning my LFA was a fundamental turning point for me in what I expect from both my professional projects and my personal lifestyle when I consider what I’m aiming to achieve. It helped me to step outside of the status quo thinking we are so easily stuck in, and to really start to dream again about what is possible. Since earning my LFA, I have felt a shift from designer, to design activist.” –Melissa Mattes, LFA in Massachusetts, United States

When you’re ready to join the LFA community and distinguish yourself as a committed and knowledgeable leader, enroll in the LFA Foundational Curriculum. 

And if you participated in LF21, your journey towards achieving LFA is accelerated! All the education sessions, live or replay, are approved for General LFA CE credits. (LFA requires 36 credits of education (20 Foundational + 16 General) and an active membership.)

We hope you’ll join us next year at LF22, which promises to be another incredible education opportunity — and consider achieving your LFA, as well as taking action by becoming a speaker! The call for LF22 session proposals will open in the coming months.

For more details about LFA, including answers to frequently asked questions, cost and payment options, and LFA achievement and renewal requirements: check out the LFA webpage for our comprehensive LFA Guide.

Mohawk Group recently announced their sponsorship for Living Future 2020 Online. We are so grateful for their partnership and are including their press release below. You can see their original press release here.

CALHOUN, Ga. April 21, 2020—Mohawk Group announced today that the commercial flooring manufacturer is the Luminary sponsor of the annual Living Future Conference. This year’s event, a completely virtual experience, will take place May 7–8, 2020, and be followed by six additional weeks of sessions and summits. The Living Future Conference is a game-changing platform and program created by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) for the green building movement’s most innovative leaders to come together to ideate and exchange expertise.

For the first time, the conference will be a completely digital and carbon-neutral event. This year’s theme of “Sustaining Hope Within Crisis” was originally intended to reflect immediate issues around climate change, but took on a new relevance in light of current events. The educational and inspirational lineup still operates under a singular commitment to creating a collective message of hope that can reach more people with greater urgency to share ideas, stories, obstacles and concerns—with an underlying sentiment that while we may be isolated by distance, we are not isolated from each other’s minds, spirits, and energy for creating change.

“Mohawk Group has been fundamental to the success of our sustainability initiatives in the manufacturing world. They’ve shined a light on what was done wrong and what could be done right,” said James Connelly, ILFI’s vice president of strategic growth. “They have been steadfast in their support of the Institute through this crisis and through trying to envision a future where companies like Mohawk Group actually make the world a better—not just less bad—place. Their continued support means that Mohawk is the leader in driving a transition for the entire industry.”

The manufacturer has partnered with ILFI since 2014, the same year it achieved a Declare label for its proprietary FlexLok carpet tile installation system. Two years later, Mohawk Group achieved the organization’s Living Building Challenge Petal Certification for its Light Lab Design Center, which became the first Petal Certified project in the state of Georgia and the first restoration project in the Southeastern U.S.

“At Mohawk Group we believe in this platform and this transformational movement that uses opportunities like this conference as part of its efforts to make a true impact each year,” said Rami Vagal, Mohawk Group’s senior sustainability manager. “We are proud to partner with ILFI to support their mission, and share a vision for a future where we can make the planet better together through more sustainable green building practices, certifications, outreach and advocacy.”

Following the successful implementation of Living Building Challenge Petal Certification, Mohawk Group pursued and achieved Living Product Challenge Petal Certification for the program’s first floor covering to meet its stringent requirements. Designed by ILFI founder Jason F. McLennan and his team at McLennan Design in collaboration with Mohawk Group, the award-winning Lichen collection is inspired by the idea of “Nature’s Carpet” and assemblages of multi-hued, multi-textured lichens and their regenerative role in our ecosystem. Building on its success, the manufacturer went on to achieve Petal Certification for its full carpet tile platform produced at Mohawk Group’s “Living Site” in Glasgow, Virginia. One of the latest additions to its Living Product portfolio, Owls, was also designed in collaboration with McLennan, who will be delivering the Living Future keynote.

The Living Future 2020 Online Conference includes two days of live events on May 7 and 8, followed by six weeks of additional content. For the first time ever, all content will be recorded and available as an option to attendees interested in viewing workshops, sessions, and summits in their own time. In addition, many sessions and workshops offer Living Future Accreditation, in addition to other industry standard continuing education unit credits.

Register for the Living Future 2020 Online Conference and access the full schedule and speaker list by visiting unConference.Living-Future.org.

About Mohawk Group
As the world’s leading producer and distributor of quality commercial flooring, Mohawk Group believes that better floor coverings emerge from better design, innovation, sustainability, project solutions and operational excellence. Mohawk Group addresses the unique challenges and opportunities in contract interiors with a comprehensive carpet and hard surface portfolio of all types and price points. As the commercial division of Mohawk Industries, the company has a heritage of craftsmanship that spans more than 130 years. To learn more about our full line of flooring products, please visit MohawkGroup.com.

About the International Living Future Institute
The International Living Future Institute is an environmental nonprofit committed to catalyzing the transformation toward communities that are socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative. ILFI is premised on the belief that providing a compelling vision for the future is a fundamental requirement for reconciling humanity’s relationship with the natural world. ILFI operates the Living Building Challenge, the built environment’s most ambitious performance standard. It is a hub for many other visionary programs that support the transformation toward a living future. Learn more at Living-Future.org.

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ILFI is excited to announce that online courses are open for enrollment! Living Future Education is your go-to source for education on the Living Building Challenge, Living Product Challenge, Living Community Challenge, and all other ILFI programs, transparency labels, and initiatives. 

Interested in achieving net positive water on your next project? There’s a course for that. Want to learn more about Declare and healthy materials? There’s a course for that, too. Or, are you simply looking to gain a better understanding of regenerative design principles and deepen your expertise? There are many courses for that!

“I love being an early adopter and pushing the boundaries of possibilities for change in our global cultures, diverse as they are, plus driving change in the communities in which I live and have a vested interest as an engaged citizen.” –Living Future Education online learner

All of the courses are available on-demand, which means you can take them whenever you want from wherever you are. The new system offers a much-improved user experience, making it easier for you to find relevant courses for each of ILFI’s programs and keep track of your online course achievements and credits towards earning Living Future Accreditation (LFA). LFA distinguishes leaders in the regenerative design community.

“I wish to showcase the knowledge and expertise that I’ve garnered during my time as a contractor and sustainability advocate. In addition to building my professional repertoire, I wish to help others in their quest to build sustainable projects by acting as a qualified resource.” –Aspiring LFA professional

Earning your LFA also makes you eligible to deepen your involvement with ILFI through Network volunteer opportunities as well as fulfill the LFA professional team member requirement for LBC 4.0.

Ready to start learning? ILFI Members receive a 10% discount on course enrollments with their special member coupon code. Join today! Sponsors of ILFI also receive special education benefits.

Browse our catalog and check out our top 5 picks for online education this quarter (all approved for LFA + AIA credits), below. If you have the opportunity, join us in Nashville this week at the Living Product Expo to continue learning and engaging deeply about these topics.

1. Living Products: Three Case Studies of Regenerative Design*
   1. The Living Product Challenge was launched with a bold vision: Design a beautiful, healthy product that makes the world a better place through its very creation. In this course, you’ll hear how three inspirational companies (Mohawk Group, Humanscale, and Bureo) are leveraging the LPC framework to upend the current manufacturing paradigm, demonstrating that regenerative products are possible.
2. Achieving Healthy Materials*
   1. Learn how to strategically research, specify, and document products to achieve the Living Building Challenge Materials Petal. This course reviews best practices for selecting healthy products, prioritizing ecologically restorative products, and creating spaces that have a positive impact on the human and natural systems with which we interact.
3. Introduction to the Living Product Challenge*
   1. This course will help you understand the business case for manufacturing Living Products, which build soil, create habitat, nourish the human spirit, and provide inspiration for personal, political and economic change. The course also describes how to help consumers make quick and informed decisions about sustainable product selection.
4. Materials Vetting for Affordable Housing
   1. This course walks through team member roles, prioritization, and steps for vetting products for Red List, FSC, and Living Economy Sourcing compliance. The course demonstrates how to identify CAS registry numbers on the Red List and provides examples of acceptable product documentation. Additionally, the course shows how to access and use the Declare and Mindful Materials databases to find and vet materials.
5. Taking Flight: Declare to LPC*
   1. Learn how to leverage the important work you’ve done in transparency and material health with Declare to achieve the Living Product Challenge, the most advanced product sustainability standard in the world. If you have a Declare label and are considering evaluating the life cycle of your products, you’re already on your way to certifying one of the world’s first Living Products.

*Denotes courses contained within the LFA Foundational Curriculum, completion of which is required (along with 16 General LFA CE credits) to achieve Living Future Accreditation.

Happy learning!