Why You Should Care About Healthy Materials Summit 2016

By Blake Jackson

The green building industry is a complex machine with many components, most of them changing constantly. Through every twist and turn, every variable, and every innovation, there will be some consistency in the mix. The mission is always the same – to make the world healthier through the design and development of buildings that are green-conscious and make a positive impact on the environment. On October 26th, at Google's Cambridge HQ, you will find out at the Healthy Materials Summit why the physical building blocks of these designs are of constant importance in our industry.

The materials supply chain is complex – global. We all, through our purchasing power, share a responsibility for the collateral environmental impacts of these decisions, which are often invisible. Whether selecting what we chose to wear, eat, or even build with, all of these decisions not only impact our health and wellbeing, but they also impact air quality, biodiversity, pollution, and social issues – the list goes on. Solving these issues seems daunting, especially when considering we’re typically working project-by-project within our disciplines, while also considering products for their aesthetics, price, durability, etc.

Still, if we work together as an industry across disciplines, we can share this burden together, helping to elevate the ecosystem for healthier, more sustainable building procurement practices. This conference is an opportunity to gather with peers across the supply chain to begin this dialogue, share victories and challenges, and to focus on moving in the direction of the future industry we want to have and to together promote a call to action for transparency.

It isn't too late to attend the Healthy Materials Summit 2016. Participants in this summit will gain an opportunity to network with like-minded peers in various industries: design, construction, manufacturing, and real estate. They will also gain insight into the history of the “transparency” movement, as it relates to LEEDv4, WELL, and the Living Building Challenge, as well as get a survey of tools, disclosure documents, and other helpful information to aid participants in becoming informed and involved, regarding in the promotion and utilization “transparency” practices.

A multi-disciplinary panel of experts has been assembled to share stories and expertise in how manufacturing, non-profits, clients, designers, software developers, and others are working together to achieve the more stringent – often confusing – requirements of third-party ratings systems, their lessons learned, and what they see as the “state of the future” of this movement.

If your career, education, or passions in any way relate to green buildings or another environmentally-conscious industry, you owe it to yourself – and to your community – to attend the Healthy Materials Summit 2016 and to learn more about how everyone can make a difference. Whether you're designing a new building or taking another approach to helping our world, the process is the same – one building block at a time.

The Healthy Materials Summit
October 26th, 2016
8:00AM – 8:00PM
Google Cambridge HQ
5 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA, 02142

Learn about our speakers:
Barbra Batshalom
Monica Nakielski
Brent Ehrlich
Gregory Norris

See Grey's Thoughts on Healthy Materials Summit here.

Register and learn more here.