Photo credit:
HBN | November 2023 | Newsletter
As end of year approaches, we're gearing up for joyous celebrations and meaningful gift-giving. Yet, it's essential to ensure our purchases bring happiness without unintended consequences. Let's redefine the Black Friday experience by shopping with intention. By aligning your purchases with your values, you're not just giving gifts; you're actively participating in shaping a better future for your family and generations to come.
HBN | November 02, 2023 | Announcements
Healthy Building Network (HBN) and mindful MATERIALS (mM) are working together to align Informed™ with the Common Materials Framework (CMF), accelerating our collective mission to empower the AEC industry in the selection of healthier materials. It is critical that these tools and organizational approaches are understood as complementary and collaborative.
HBN | October 18, 2023 | Announcements
Two new reports offer guidance on selecting products that champion both environmental and material safety, spotlighting a shift toward holistic sustainability in design.
HBN | October 2023 | Newsletter
In a monumental step for green building, Perkins&Will has partnered with Healthy Building Network to release two groundbreaking reports: "Embodied Carbon and Material Health in Insulation" and "Embodied Carbon and Material Health in Gypsum Drywall and Flooring." This collaboration represents a significant achievement in efforts towards holistic building product specification.
HBN | May 2023 | Newsletter
Almost every day, news headlines warn us of the dangers of ‘forever chemicals’, known as PFAS, used in the manufacturing of consumer and industrial products. They're being found in our water, air, fish, and soil across the U.S. and around the globe, and our body tissues, showing up in almost every person in the US. A new report by Healthy Building Network (HBN) examines the presence of PFAS in residential and commercial paint products—and the urgent need to stop their use.
We recently spoke with Teresa McGrath, chief research officer at HBN, and the report’s lead author, to discuss the team’s research findings. She shares what industry professionals can do to avoid human exposure, and discusses why—and how—manufacturers can eliminate them from paint formulas altogether.
HBN | November 2022 | Newsletter
Healthy Building Network is grateful for the continuous progress being made towards our collective vision that all people and the planet thrive when the environment is free of toxic chemicals. To our partners, friends, family, and all who work to make the world a safer place, we are most thankful for you.
HBN | September 2022 | Newsletter
Hot-off-the-presses! HBN’s new waterproofing and dampproofing product guidance! Use this guidance to select product types that are yellow or above to decrease toxic chemical exposures to people and the planet. Products in green are the best options while products in red should be avoided. Those in-between provide intermediate, and meaningfully better options from a health hazard perspective as you advance up the color rankings. In short, strive to get out of the red-zone.
HBN | September 2022 | Newsletter
Who do you think would win at the sustainability tug-o-war? Team safer materials or team low-carbon products? Find out in our recently published study highlighting building products that optimize material health and lower their carbon footprint.
Rebecca Stamm | September 2022 | Newsletter
Insulation is an integral part of our buildings, and better insulating buildings to decrease energy use is an important part of climate solutions. However, the current approach, singularly-focused on carbon fails to account for other harmful emissions associated with the life cycle of insulation materials—toxic pollution that disproportionately burdens Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), and/or low-income communities. Healthy Building Network, in partnership with NRDC and Energy Efficiency for All, recently released a series of reports exploring who is harmed by toxic chemicals along the supply chain of building insulation, and how to make more equitable policies and products.
Roberto Valle Kinloch | April 2022 | Newsletter
HBN recently completed a project in partnership with United Renters for Justice (IX), a nonprofit working to transform the Minneapolis housing system, to reduce tenant exposures to toxic chemicals used in building products. Funded through a grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the collaboration provided the unique opportunity to co-create resources to help tenants and building managers make informed decisions about the products used in their housing units and common areas. HBN and IX are now excited to make these resources available to you!
