Manufacturer Materials Commitment

Dear Building Ecosystem Member,

The built environment is in need of a transformation. Health, of humans and the environment, are the heart of this transformation and the products and materials we build with are the foundation for this change. Building products are currently responsible for 11% of all global carbon emissions; construction and demolition accounted for 600 million tons of waste in the US alone in 2018, and 90% of human disease risk is a result of everyday exposures (including, but not limited to, building materials). This trajectory is clearly unsustainable.

The recent proliferation of stakeholder-led public pledges, including the mM Owner Commitment, the Contractor Commitment, and the A&D Materials Pledge (among others), have each provided a beacon of hope, sending a powerful signal of demand to the manufacturing community for materials that will meet a holistic definition of ‘health’. As leading members of the manufacturing community, we are united behind this common cause of creating the materials that support a more sustainable built environment. 

We each pledge to work collaboratively to define, benchmark, and transparently disclose our progress towards creating materials that support:

• Climate Health
• Human Health
• Ecosystem Health
• Social Health and Equity within a 
• Circular Economy

These pledges are important, but they are just the beginning of our work together. This is a commitment we cannot deliver on alone. Everyone has a role to play in creating measurable change, from designers to contractors, owners and beyond. 

Here is what we ask of designers, contractors and owners as partners in this work:

1. Sign onto a Materials Pledge today. Already signed on to one? Spread the word.
2. Build pledge commitments into your internal and external education. Make the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of product sustainability clear and actionable. Here’s an example.
3. Get started early: Establish sustainable product requirements as the beginning of your projects and hold all project members accountable for action.
   Use common databases to streamline this work: mindful MATERIALs library and other databases make it easier to find more sustainable products. We will continue to update and upload more products in this database to support these efforts.
4. Make sustainability standard: Owners have the power to drive materials priorities, but don’t wait on them to get started. Integrate sustainable product requirements in RFPs on all projects for all product categories (even those you can’t see).
5. Be transparent and vocal: Talk about your progress in transforming material use. This signals demand and inspires others.
6. Give us feedback: Tell us why you did or didn’t use our product. Feedback is powerful information and a driver of change. It will ensure we can continue to invest (and reinvest) in sustainability for years to come.

Now is the time to make ‘mindful’ materials the norm for all buildings, not the option. Only by working together can we remove the silos that prevent progress, and move the needle on buildings that holistically support impact reduction through materials.

In partnership,

Superior Essex

Mechoshade

Assa Abloy

HMTX Industries

Mohawk Group

Construction Specialties

Humanscale

Hightower

Andersen Corporation

KI

Tarkett

Kingspan

mafi

Moore & Giles

Pioneer Millworks

Designtex

Florim USA

R-stud, LLC

Altro

Carnegie Fabrics

Stego Industries

DIRTT Environmental Solutions

IFS Coatings

Benetti Home S.R.L.

Cosentino

Pure + Free Form

Angelus Block Co., Inc.

DesignTex

Hallmark & Teragren

Green Dot Sign

Interface

Steelcase

Woodright

Zena Forest Products

The Mitchell Group

Keyless.Co, LLC.

Atlas Concorde

3form

Armstrong Flooring

Vaproshield

Shaw Contract

Imperial Sign Company

Allegion

PROSOCO

Saint Gobain

CertainTeed

Teknion

MAPEI

Legrand

Rikett America

Sustainable Northwest Wood

Legrand, North and Central America

Shivom Brass Ind