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The Living Building Challenge: Epitomizing Optimism in Our Future
The Greek philosopher Socrates once said that "the secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." In the world we live in today, it is impossible to ignore the predictions of how climate change, biodiversity loss, and other ecological catastrophes will affect the world our children inherit. Instead of focusing on these dire forecasts, focusing our energies on creating a more sustainable world is essential.
The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) is up to that challenge. ILFI is a nonprofit working to build an ecologically-minded, restorative world for all people. ILFI is responsible for creating the Living Building Challenge, the world's most rigorous green building standard and certification process. This standard goes above and beyond the more commonly known LEED certification. It attempts to push for buildings that are net-zero or net-positive energy while also being free of all toxic chemicals.
Rise spoke with Allison Capen, the former Technical Director of the Living Building Challenge (LBC), back in 2018. This conversation is still very valid today as she helped us understand this rigorous yet encouraging green building standard and how it is contributing to a more sustainable future.
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What Are The Different Levels Available in the Living Building Challenge?
The LBC offers several different types of certification for buildings:
Living Certification
This certification requires the project to complete and fulfill all 20 of the Imperatives. These include, among others: limits to growth, human-powered living water, net positive water and energy, healthy interior environment, embodied carbon footprint, living economy sourcing of materials, equitable investment, and human-scale/humane places. As of January 2021, 13 residential projects have received Certified and Petal certifications.
Petal Certification
This certification requires buildings to complete three out of the seven petals (the LBC is designed around a flower motif). One of the three petals must be either the Energy, Materials, or Water Petal, which are the hardest to adhere to, but also have the highest impact.
Zero Energy Certification
Zero Energy certification requires that 100% of a building's energy needs be supplied by renewable energy, on a net annual basis, based on actual performance. No combustion—meaning no natural gas, propane, oil, etc.—is allowed. 32 residential projects have achieved Zero Energy Certification.
Zero Carbon Certification
Similar to Zero Energy certification, the goal is to have 100% of a building's energy needs supplied by renewable energy on a net basis, but it does not have to be met with onsite renewables. This certification allows for carbon offsets to accommodate buildings that may not be able to meet Zero Energy Certification due to previously installed combustion and the inability to install renewable energy onsite. No residential projects have achieved this certification yet.
The Living Building Challenge Focuses on the Ideal
Allison believes that "LEED is a great tool, particularly for those who are new to sustainable design and want a better understanding of the basic areas of concern…At the same time, we need to go further if we hope to really live within the means this planet can support—using only renewable energy sources, reserving potable water for only potable needs, and supporting projects, products, and organizations that foster health and treat people equitably."
Modern home construction is typically an "inefficient use of resources (materials, energy, water), which is exacerbated by externalizing the real costs to vulnerable communities and ecosystems." Several eco-certifications do not go far enough in addressing the underlying issues related to sustainable home design and construction. Allison believes that "minor tweaks to current industry practices are not going to have sufficient impact. Generally speaking, certification systems developed by the industry being certified are less likely to foster truly impactful change than those developed by and confirmed through a third party."
The Benefits of the Living Building Challenge
Many homeowners interested in living more sustainably want to know about the costs and potential payback through increased energy-efficiency and renewable energy systems.
When it comes to the additional costs related to building an LBC-certified building, Allison admits that "in general, yes, (LBC-certified homes) typically cost a bit more, for a number of reasons. LBC projects are not externalizing their cost on others (e.g., sending their sewage offsite for treatment, installing cheap toxic materials, or using fossil fuels), and for many teams, this is a new approach to design and construction, which takes some time and research to understand. As a team told me: you can't build an energy utility and water treatment plant in your project and expect it to come at the same price [as a conventional building]."
Radically sustainable homes bring benefits that prevail over economic and budget concerns. An LBC-certified homeowner will certainly financially benefit from lower utility costs, increased home resilience (important due to increased likelihood of climate-related weather events), and improved health through the absence of toxic chemicals in the home (and healthcare is not cheap). In addition, Allison believes that the main reason individual homeowners and home contractors opt for LBC certification is that "people feel strongly that this is how they want to live in the world, and they want their home to be resilient and healthy. This certification speaks to those values: they get the certification to celebrate it and be a part of the community."
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
