Development of Social Media Network for Living Building Challenge

The Living Futures Institute is in the early stages of building a global network to advance the overall cause of global sustainability and to further the adoption of the set of green building standards embodied in the Living Building Challenge. The institute has formed in the past couple of years as a hub for the Living Building Challenge, Cascadia Green Building Council, the Natural Step Network USA and Ecotone Publishing.

In the past few years, the building challenge has inspired some of the most innovative green building projects in the world and is based on the most comprehensive and some of the most rigorous building standards in the trade. The challenge is outcome oriented, and obligates builders to honor 20 imperatives in their site selection, their use of water and energy, the impact of their building on human and environmental health, their sourcing of building materials, the project’s social justice implications, and the project’s beauty and natural aesthetic. Buildings do not receive certification unless they meet these imperatives.

Blackstone Ranch Institute has provided funding for the development of the social media that will enable the institute’s thousands of global affiliates to more effectively share their experiences in applying the Living Building Challenge in countries around the world. Other foundations that have provided support for the broader development of the institute include the Kendeda Fund and Summit Foundation.