The International Living Future Institute’s latest program considers all stages of a product’s lifecycle. Industrial goods made with processes that are socially beneficial and environmentally sound might sound unattainable. But this is the aim of the Living Product Challenge. It is the latest program developed by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), a nonprofit best known for its role in administering the demanding green building certification system, the Living Building Challenge (LBC). To qualify for certification under the new standard, launched as a pilot program in April, products must be safe for human exposure at all stages of their lifecycle—from

This article first appeared on ENR.com.  Buoyed by the progress of its performance-based Living Building Challenge (LBC) green-building certification program, the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) is casting a net beyond the LBC. The Institute, through the recently-announced umbrella Living Future Challenge, says it is developing even more ways to rethink "the way humanity designs its systems, products, buildings and communities." Related links International Living Future Institute WELL Building Standard "It's the Living Future Institute, not the Living Building Institute, because it's not just about buildings," said Jason McLennan, ILFI's CEO. "The Living Future Challenge is a framework for

Spread over 55 acres and featuring more than 255,000 different types of plants, the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver offers the ideal setting for urban dwellers wanting to commune with nature.

The wait is over: the first projects have been certified as meeting the stringent terms of the Living Building Challenge (LBC). Two buildings have achieved full certification after their first year of operation, and a third has earned recognition for performing to LBC standards in four out of six categories. Although all three projects were completed by May 2009, they had to demonstrate through a year’s worth of data that they actually met design intentions for net-zero energy and water use. The Omega Center for Sustainable Living is one of the first two certified Living Buildings. The wastewater treatment center