The Future of Buildings

A wide path to a circular, regenerative economy

Buildings are changing not only in how we make and use them but in how they impact society.  It’s no longer just about minimizing costs and impact. Buildings are a global path to a circular, regenerative economy.   

Why are buildings important (besides the fact that you are probably in one for most of your life)?  They use many resources. In the US buildings use 70% of the electricity, 17% of our water, account for almost 40% of emissions and use many other natural resources (over $750B of “stuff” every year).  How do we turn this around and make buildings the solution?  

A little history - The trigger for much of the building sustainability movement was the oil price spike during the energy crisis of the 1970s. Systematic solutions followed in the early 90s with the launch of Energy Star from the US Government and the creation of the US Green Building Council who launched LEED.  This was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between government and nonprofits to jump-start a restorative economic model.

Since then green buildings have grown in quantity, ft-sq certified, and in the measures that define green.  This month we will launch LEED V4.1, the latest evolution of the keystone rating system. New systems such as the Living Building Challenge, WELL, and Green Globes have joined LEED in this movement.  They each push buildings and society towards regeneration in their own way. However, they can exert a “complexity tax” that may hurt adoption but the good far outweighs the bad.

In addition to building rating systems, products for buildings get rated.  There are over 100 trade organizations, businesses, and government agencies testing products (we have 50+ in our network).  Running the gamut from energy use and water use to harmful chemicals, supply chain, end end-of-life is getting more comprehensive every day.  One of our partners, BIFMA (Business & Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association) is doing this for the world of furniture (which contain more chemicals that you might think!). The BIFMA Level System assesses a company’s social actions, energy usage, material selection, and human and ecosystem health impacts.  It's sort of a Patagonia certification for furniture.  

Today, we see ESG reporting as powerful for market forces to affect the path that buildings take.  As investors seek to assess long-term risk, they will help buildings consume fewer resources. For example, an investor considering an investment in a manufacturing company would want to know what % of their assortment will be excluded from a LEED building or from a Living Building Challenge certified project.  We call this Assortment Risk. A real estate investor would want to know if the building has a path to the reduction of consumption and health risks.

Taking this all into account, we designed the elements of our new logo to reflect our view of the future of buildings:

Circular - The future of our economy is circular and regenerative, not linear.   ESG ratings are moving the economy in this direction every day. Get on board or get left behind. 

Simplicity out of complexity  - We aggregate, assemble, and cultivate data from over 50 sources then simplify it.  We make it easy to select products for buildings while leveraging the mountains of data that can drive a better building.

Three colors - We believe that the partnership between business, governments, and nonprofits is essential to make buildings regenerative.  The three colors represent these three legs of our stool.

Speaker - Our logo looks a little like an icon for sound coming out of a speaker. We are a network of sharing information across the ecosystem.  We help all manufacturers share the great work they are doing to advance products with buyers looking to make buildings better.

Network Effects - We believe that every time a member of the vast building ecosystem demands better products they move the market.  We are helping amplify that vote so that the building owners, manufacturers, and rating systems can frictionlessly work together.   

Check out our new search page, new logo, and find products that will make your building more sustainable. If you buy or specify products for buildings, let's talk!