Proposal Submissions are now Closed

The Living Future 2023 conference is now accepting speaking proposals about Advocacy + Belonging as it relates to climate, health, and justice issues in the built environment. Here’s how you can submit your speaking ideas by October 1, 2022!

What is Living Future 2023 (LF23) and why should I attend?

Living Future is the signature event of the International Living Future Institute (the Institute), the creators of the Living Building Challenge, Declare, and Just labels and certifications. The Living Future 2023 (LF23) conference will assemble the world’s most ambitious and holistically-focused regenerative design experts, and create an in-person networking hub to gather industry leaders focused at the intersection of climate, health, and justice in the built environment. Advocacy + Belonging is the theme of 2023’s Living Future conference, now in its 17th year.

Taking place in Washington, D.C. from May 3-5, 2023 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, the Living Future conference will feature inspirational keynotes and unique breakout sessions showcasing cutting-edge building projects, case studies, and new products. We will host a forum to highlight justice work that promotes the well-being of our communities.

LF23 will also incorporate the Living Product Expo—a trade show showcasing revolutionary healthy building and design materials—that will allow specifiers and purchasers to directly connect with leading regenerative design manufacturers.

Who should submit a proposal to speak at LF23? What are the benefits of speaking at LF23?

Living Future 2023 is designed to inspire, educate, and elevate the built environment community, advance the regenerative design movement, and unite a key audience of holistic thinkers from aligned industries and disciplines. Anyone interested in showcasing their thought leadership in the following focus areas is encouraged to submit their speaking proposals:

  • Justice and Belonging—Acknowledging and addressing that our climate emergency has differing social, economic, public health, and other adverse impacts on less-resourced populations. How do we address these inequities head-on through short-term action, long-term mitigation, and adaptation strategies? How do we transform our developments and organizations to foster a true sense of belonging within our communities to create communities that are just, affordable, and equitable for all?
  • Impact Case Studies—Celebrating and learning from the successes of project teams, their achievements, and how these teams overcame barriers to create lasting impact.
  • Health + Materials—How do we design spaces and products that optimize physical health and well-being? How do we expand our healthy materials economy around ecologically regenerative, transparent, and socially equitable products and develop advocacy for their use? Share the latest innovations, best practices, and how-tos. 
  • Zero Carbon—How do we drive the creation and operation of zero embodied carbon buildings that rely solely on renewable forms of energy, while operating year-round in a safe, pollution-free, and resilient manner? How do we prioritize reductions and building efficiencies before turning to technological solutions, and minimize and offset carbon emissions that contribute to climate change? 
  • Restoration + Resilience—How do we restore our relationship with nature by reconnecting our human-built environment to its natural ecosystems? How do we encourage the creation of buildings and communities focused on pedestrians, local food webs, watersheds, and our ecological habitats to promote resilience?  
  • Beauty + Biophilia—Recognizing and creating compelling data and findings on the need for beauty and biophilia, which enrich our lives, improve our wellness, and honor local cultures, climes, and places.
  • Advocacy + Innovation—How do we build our movement, discover and share resources, and use advocacy tools to build a Living Future for all? How are our leading practitioners and innovators pushing for better, healthier buildings and communities through engaging in policy and public sector action? 

What are the submission requirements and when is my submission due?

The submission requirements can be found here.  Don’t forget to submit your proposal through this portal by October 1, 2022 to be considered for a speaking opportunity at Living Future 2023.

How is the theme “Advocacy + Belonging” relevant to my work in the built environment?

We recognize that in our goal to create a Living Future, we must build momentum in our movement while transforming our individual members from bystanders to committed advocates. We will drive this transformation through our inclusive culture of belonging—where we allow all participants to have meaningful expression and the opportunity to participate in shared solutions through a design of radical inclusivity and idea exchange. Living Future 2023 represents a global shift in perspective, a gathering for bold thinkers and doers, and a unique gathering space for growing our collective advocacy and belonging to build our movement of transformative thinkers and impact at the epicenter of climate, health, and justice in the built environment.

LF23 will create networking spaces that will allow us to deeply engage with one another to focus on addressing and repairing intertwined and daunting global issues, including the damage to our ecological well-being and social health. Together, we will answer questions around how we will restore ecosystems, how we will dismantle systems of oppression, and how we will restore and make our communities and building systems whole. At LF23, we will affirm the dignity and inherent value of all people, impacted communities, and the rights of the natural world.

How is my proposal evaluated and when will I be notified if my proposal was accepted?

Living Future 2023 proposals will be evaluated by your community peers on the volunteer LF23 Review Committee, who have demonstrated experience and expertise in the areas in which they will rate and review. Selected proposals and their panel members will be notified in late October 2022.

Where can I learn more about sponsoring LF23?

As a non-profit organization, we cannot do our work at ILFI or produce events like Living Future 2023 without the incredible support of our sponsors. We encourage your organization to showcase and elevate its leadership in the regenerative design space at Living Future 2023. We ask that our LF23 audience take note of those sponsor leaders who create products and supply services that support the mission of the Institute and the growth of our movement. Please reach out to our team at sponsorship@living-future.org for more information on how to demonstrate your leadership and alignment at LF23. The LF23 sponsorship guide is also available for download here.

Want to get in touch with our LF23 team? You can reach them at LF@living-future.org.

Written By

Julie Tonroy

As ILFI's Event Director, Julie Tonroy directs and produces the Institute’s live conferences and events. She manages everything from breakfasts to budgets and audio visual to registration services. Her personal mission is to create unparalleled networking hub and learning events that attract the brightest minds in sustainability and serve as a nexus point for advancing the critical path toward a living future.