Enterprise Community Partners and International Living Future Institute Partner to Bring Healthy Buildings to Where They are Most Needed

Enterprise Community Partners and International Living Future Institute Partner to Bring Healthy Buildings to Where They are Most Needed

Development of next generation of Enterprise Green Communities Criteria to synchronize with ILFI’s healthy materials programs, including Red List, Declare and the Living Product Challenge

September 11, 2018, Pittsburgh, PA: As the first to address the unique needs of the affordable housing sector, Enterprise Community Partners Inc. (Enterprise) and the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) have partnered to scale programs for healthy, sustainable development into Enterprise’s Green Communities Criteria. Krista Egger, Enterprise Senior Director of Initiatives, will be discussing the partnership on a panel at the Living Product Expo in Pittsburgh Thursday, September 13. Enterprise and ILFI will be evaluating how to best incorporate a suite of ILFI’s programs into the Materials category of the next iteration of Enterprise Green Communities Criteria, expected to be released in 2020, in order to better address human health impacts in the built environment.

“The market is ready—and in fact is demanding—access to healthy materials,” said to James Connelly, Vice President of Products and Strategic Growth at ILFI. “We are excited to work together to ensure that those who could most benefit from healthy housing are guaranteed that right.”

Egger added, “There is profound alignment between the vision held by both organizations, and the update of our Criteria offers a tremendous opportunity to harmonize our offerings to help catalyze healthy housing. This partnership reinforces our commitment to bringing the improved health, economic and environmental benefits of sustainable construction practices to families and residents of affordable homes nationwide.”

Enterprise is beginning the process of updating its Enterprise Green Communities Criteria, which is expected to be released in 2020, including aligning the Materials category with the Declare label, Red List, and other ILFI programs. This collaboration will ensure that residents in affordable housing will receive equitable access to nontoxic living spaces through the use of cost-effective materials and construction practices.

Since the Living Building Challenge Framework for Affordable Housing was published in 2014, the Institute has taken on a cohort of 25 affordable housing pilot projects around the country to engage in direct support and collaboration as they pursue the world’s most advanced measure of sustainability, the Living Building Challenge. For their part, by aligning affordable housing investment strategies with environmentally responsive building practices through their Green Communities Criteria, Enterprise is leading the national effort to ensure that people living in affordable housing are healthier, spend less money on utilities, and have more opportunities. Together, the two organizations hope to catalyze a transformation in the affordable housing sector.

About ILFI
The International Living Future Institute is an environmental NGO 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 http://www.living-future.org.

About Enterprise Community Partners Inc. and Enterprise Green Communities
Enterprise is a proven and powerful nonprofit that improves communities and people’s lives by making well-designed homes affordable. We bring together the nationwide know-how, partners, policy leadership and investments to multiply the impact of local affordable housing development. Over 35 years, Enterprise has created nearly 529,000 homes, invested $36 billion and touched millions of lives. Since 2004, Enterprise has led the effort through Enterprise Green Communities to integrate green practices into the affordable housing development sector, investing $3.9 billion to create or preserve more than 127,000 green, healthy homes while transforming policies at the state, local and national level. Join us at www.EnterpriseCommunity.org.

ILFI Contact:
Lisa Lilienthal, 404-661-3679, lisa@iconologic.com

Enterprise Contact:
John Keaten, 212 784 5701, JKeaten@GroupGordon.com