Announcing the Declare Equity Pilot and its Founding Partners
Living Future is thrilled to announce that we have launched a pilot program for Declare Equity, a new product-level label created to bring human rights, fair labor, and social impact to the center of the building materials conversation. Declare Equity represents the next evolution of our work to illuminate what is inside the products we use — and now, who is behind them.
For more than a decade, Declare has helped shape a more transparent and healthier materials marketplace. Today, it is one of the industry’s most trusted product transparency programs, with more than 400 participating manufacturers, 1,700+ labels, and widespread use across leading building certifications and AEC firms.
To further advance a truly regenerative materials economy, we must also look at the conditions under which products are made. True sustainability requires that the people who make our products are treated with dignity, have access to safe working conditions, and can thrive in their communities. Declare Equity is our response to that urgent need.
Program Overview
This new label provides a clear, structured framework focused on the well-being of workers involved in a product’s production and supply chain, aiming to address challenges such as supply chain opacity, inconsistent accountability, and limited industry awareness. It is designed not just to measure progress, but to inspire it—helping manufacturers of all sizes step into a deeper, more holistic expression of their values.
The program encourages manufacturers to disclose product-level policies, practices, and performance across ten equity indicators grouped into three categories.
| Category | Supply Chain Visibility | Indicator |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing Workforce | Ensures equitable opportunities, fair pay, and safe working conditions for all employees of the manufacturer—including full-time and part-time staff, contractors, and interns. Focuses on wage equity, transparency, safety, and grievance procedures. | Equitable Opportunities and Pay |
| Worker Health and Safety | ||
| Worker Well-Being | ||
| Supply Chain Visibility | Improves transparency and accountability across the full supply chain. Evaluates supplier practices and prioritizes prevention of child labor, bonded labor, forced labor, and forced recruitment. | Supplier Mapping |
| Supplier Support | ||
| Responsible Labor Practices: Tier 1 | ||
| Responsible Labor Practices: Tier 2 | ||
| Responsible Labor Practices: Extended Supplier Network | ||
| Driving Systemic Change | Encourages systemic, long-lasting change within the industries and communities where the manufacturer operates. | Community Engagement |
| Industry Leadership | ||
Each indicator includes defined metrics and documentation requirements, evaluated across four levels of progress – starting from a baseline that reflects current industry norms and progressing toward transformative, community-centered practices. The framework is designed to balance rigor and feasibility – enabling manufacturers to demonstrate leadership while tackling systemic industry challenges.
Each indicator is also grounded in established global frameworks for human rights and responsible supply-chain due diligence, ensuring the program reflects both international best practice and the realities manufacturers face on the ground.
Like our Just label, each Indicator in Declare Equity defines the Intent, Metrics, and Compliance Details necessary to guide implementation and verification.
We are deeply grateful to Gayathri Unnikrishnan and the Liveable team, whose social sustainability expertise was instrumental in shaping Declare Equity. Their collaboration ensured the program’s metrics are robust and grounded in global best practices. Additionally, Declare Equity is intentionally aligned with the Design for Freedom initiative, reinforcing the collective effort to eliminate forced labor from the building materials supply chain. Together, these partnerships significantly strengthen our ability to support manufacturers in pursuing greater transparency, responsibility, and justice.
Pilot Participants
Seven pioneering manufacturers have stepped forward to test, refine, and shape the initial version of Declare Equity. Their early leadership is helping ground the framework in real-world practice and demonstrate what equitable manufacturing can look like across diverse sectors.
- Anduba
- Hightower
- Humanscale
- Nova Terra
- Tarkett
- Vode Lighting
- One more large organization!
These seven companies represent different scales, sectors, and stories—but they share a commitment to aligning their operations with their values. Their participation is helping us refine a framework that balances rigor with feasibility, and vision with practicality. We look forward to sharing more details about the participants and products taking part in the pilot.
Declare Equity is more than a label. It is a step toward a materials economy where transparency includes people, where labor practices are visible and valued, and where every product we specify is an opportunity to advance justice. This pilot helps set the direction for the next era of responsible manufacturing by centering the people behind the products.
We’re just at the beginning of this journey, and we are grateful to the manufacturers walking with us. To get involved with this program, please complete this interest survey.
Together, we can build a world where both materials and the people behind them can truly thrive.
