2024 Midyear Stats and Takeaways

Living Future is excited to share the latest stats, milestones, and key takeaways highlighting the growth of our programs over the first half of 2024.

Building Certifications

Living Building Challenge, Zero Carbon, and Zero Energy

In the first half of 2024, we celebrated 11 new certified projects, including our 34th and 35th Living Buildings:

• PAE Living Building, Portland, OR – Living Certified 
• Class Of 1966 Environmental Center At Williams College, Williamstown, MA – Living Certified (upgraded from Petal)
• Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall, Chestertown, MD – Petal Certified (Energy)
• The Living Homes on Mill Creek, Moab, UT – Petal Certified (Energy, Water)
• Architectural Nexus Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, UT – Petal Certified (Water, Materials)
• Muhlenberg College Fahy Commons, Allentown, PA – Core Certified
• Trent University Forensics Training Facility, Ontario, Canada – Zero Carbon Certified
• King County Solid Waste Division – Vashon Recycling and Transfer Station, Vashon, WA – Zero Energy Certified
• Singh Residence, East Greenbush, NY – Zero Energy Certified
• Antigua Solar Cabin, Jumby Bay, Antigua – Zero Energy Certified
• 1042Highland, Oak Park, IL – Zero Energy Certified

Additionally, 8 projects have recently achieved Ready Designation by completing the Ready Audit post-construction. These projects will undergo a Final Audit after a 12-month performance period.

In the past 6 months, 110 projects have registered (7 Living, 7 Petal, 18 Core, 61 Zero Carbon, and 17 Zero Energy), covering 10.8M sq. ft. Worldwide, there are 417 registered projects, representing 41M sq. ft., actively pursuing certification. (Around 900 projects have registered all time.)

Registered and certified projects are predominantly in the US (485), followed by Canada (29), Australia (20), New Zealand (16), and Italy (15), with a total of 38 projects in Europe.You can find most of our certified and non-confidential registered projects on our Project Map. If your project is not listed and you wish to be included, please email maps@living-future.org.

There are now 208 certified projects, ranging from 130 to 990k sq. ft., representing a combined total of 7.8M sq. ft.

Materials

Declare and Living Product Challenge

Currently, there are 42 active certified Living Products and 1,441 active Declare labels (a 20% increase over last year), including 809 Red List Free (RFL) and 407 Red List Approved (RLA).

More than 10% of Declare labels are third-party verified, which is a focus area for the team to grow, adding 5 new approved verifiers in 2023 and another lined up to start in Q3.

Out of the 41 CSI divisions and subdivisions (product types) represented in Declare, the most common are Furnishings (17%), Thermal and Moisture Protection (11%), Carpeting (9%), Electrical (9%), Resilient Flooring (8%), Ceilings (7%), and Openings (6%).

The fastest growth within the Living Future Institute’s Declare program continues to be in the lighting sector. In 2019, there were only 5 lighting products with Declare labels. Today, fueled by advocacy work promoting transparency in the lighting sector, we proudly have over 100 published labels for lighting products.

18 manufacturers published their first label in the first half of 2024, including: A. Zahner Co, ALUZ, Encore Hospitality Carpet, Felt Right LLC, Goodwe Power Supply Technology Co, Heath Ceramics, Kenall Manufacturing, Kirlin Lighting, KPNE Products Ltd, LANTANA LED, Linea Ceiling & Wall Systems, LITON, Pa-Co Lighting, Rubio Monocoat Australia Ply Ltd, Swan Surfaces, Tivoli, Trespa International BV, and Wools of New Zealand.

Manufacturers with more than 25 active Declare labels include Armstrong World Industries, Godfrey Hirst, HMTX, Humanscale, Knauf, Milliken, Mohawk, Q-Tran, Toto, and USG.

Oceania saw growth in 3PV (third-party verified) labels with the addition of verifiers in the region, including labels for Acoufelt, Autex, Brickworks Building Products, and District Australia. Outside of Oceania, Kenall Manufacturing and Moore & Giles achieved 3PV status in 2024.

ORGANIZATIONS

Just

In the first half of 2024, the Living Future Institute registered 30 new and 41 returning organizations in the Just program. There are currently 190 active Just labels, representing a diverse range of organizations and a total of 39,000 employees, with organizational sizes varying from 1 to 8,500 employees.

These firms span 15 industries, with architecture firms representing more than half (59%) of the participating organizations, followed by consulting and engineering firms. The firms are based in 9 countries, with the vast majority in the US (87%), followed by Canada (4%), Australia, and Italy (2% each).

So far this year, we have welcomed nearly 40 new organizations to the Just community and published about 70 Just labels, including new labels and renewals. By July 2024, we had already published as many Just labels as we did throughout the entire year of 2023, putting us on track for a record-breaking year.

Stay tuned for more updates and milestones as we continue to drive transparency and sustainability across industries.

Cover Photo: PAE Living Building
Credit: Jamie Goodwick / PORTLANDRONE