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Designing with Impact in Mind

September 4, 2025 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Photo credit: designLAB architects

About the Training
With hundreds of green product certifications on the market and persistent greenwashing, it can be difficult for designers to know what kind of impacts the materials they select for a project are having on the health of our climate, ecosystems, communities, and on individuals. But with the introduction of an industry-aligned framework for evaluating sustainable materials, more informed decision making is finally within reach. This course will present the current challenges to measuring holistic product impacts and introduce the Common Materials Framework: a groundbreaking common language for product sustainability – and how to apply it in your practice today.

This is the second session of the Materials Matter: Embodied Carbon & The Path to Healthier Buildings training series. Join the series to explore the connections between climate, human health, and the circular economy—transforming the way we design and build for a better future.

Refund Policy
Full refunds are available only if written notice is provided 7 days prior to course start date. There will be no refund if less than one week’s notice is given. Please note: Full refunds will be issued less the standard processing fee. In general, rescheduling is always preferred over refunds. Registration transfers are only allowed for rescheduling to a future training and cannot be transferred between individuals.

This training is eligible for 2 AIA LU / HSW continuing education credits. AIA membership information will be collected from attendees by BE+ during the training.

This is a live, online training led by Laurel Christensen with mindful MATERIALS.

Laurel Christensen, AIA, WELL AP serves as Mindful MATERIALS VP of Engagement, where she focuses on building industry partnerships with stakeholders across the built environment. These relationships help expand industry education and build alignment around the Common Materials Framework, an emerging common language for evaluating materials’ sustainability. Her dual role as both mM VP of Engagement and as a practicing Architect and Sustainable Design Leader at Dyer Brown Associates, and past experience as a manufacturer’s rep, make her uniquely positioned to understand and communicate the value that the Common Materials Framework brings to the industry.

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze diverse criteria in building material product certifications, advocate for holistic impact consideration, and integrate strategies to address fragmentation in reporting.
2. Evaluate the multi-attribute impacts of building materials using the AIA Materials Pledge and the Common Materials Framework, considering factors like reporting threshold and third-party verification, to make informed decisions beyond certifications.
3. Consider the importance of a connected data ecosystem to scale adoption of healthy materials by addressing a subset of priority data points, and advocating for a consistent market signal to drive digitization of key information about product impacts.
4. Employ simple and sophisticated tools today and anticipate future integrated workflow tools based on the collaborations being facilitated by mindful Materials’ cross-stakeholder Forums.

Funding Grants Available: Submit by August 14th, 2025

The Express Grant is designed to help businesses respond quickly to emerging needs and keep employees engaged. With bite-size grants for just-in-time training and no waiting periods between grants, the Express program is the Workforce Training Fund’s fastest path to funding.
You could take this training for FREE. Complete an Express Grant Application.

Course ID#: C-13608
Course Provider: Built Environment Plus
Course Cost: $175 per course per trainee

Express Grant Eligibility

Employers with 100 or fewer Massachusetts, W-2 employees are eligible to receive Express Program grants. Express Program grant applications must be submitted no fewer than 21 days before the training date. The following documentation is required to apply:

Signed Form W-9
Certificate of Good Standing (COGS) from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, dated within 6 months from the date of application submission
Certificate of Compliance from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) that is not expired on the date of application submission

The contracting period of approved Express Grants begins 21 days after the grant application date and ends one year from this date. All training must be completed within the contract period to be eligible for reimbursement.

*Review the BE+ Workforce Training Grant webpage for additional eligibility requirements and other updates made by the Commonwealth Corporation.