The Living Building Challenge™ is a building certification program, advocacy tool and philosophy that defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible today and acts to rapidly diminish the gap between current limits and the end-game positive solutions we seek.

The Challenge is comprised of seven performance categories called Petals: Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity and Beauty. Petals are subdivided into a total of twenty Imperatives, each of which focuses on a specific sphere of influence. This compilation of Imperatives can be applied to almost every conceivable building project, of any scale and any location—be it a new building or an existing structure.

About the International Living Future Institute

The International Living Future Institute is an inspiring hub for visionary programs. Our mission is to lead and support the transformation toward communities that are socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative.

We are committed to catalyzing the transformation toward communities that are socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative. Composed of leading green building experts and thought-leaders, the Institute is premised on the belief that providing a compelling vision for the future is a fundamental requirement for reconciling humanity’s relationship with the natural world. The Institute runs the Living Building Challenge, Living Community Challenge, Living Product Challenge, Net Zero Energy Certification, the Cascadia Green Building Council, Ecotone Publishing, Declare, JUST and other leading-edge programs. A global network of more than 400 volunteers across nearly 30 countries drive the local adoption of restorative principles in their communities.

In 2014 we announced the Living Future ChallengeTM, a bold new framework for re-thinking the way humanity designs its systems, products, buildings and communities. Based on the elegant and profound architecture of the Living Building Challenge, utilizing nature as the ultimate end-game metric for success, the Living Future Challenge now branches into all aspects of society:

  • Living Building Challenge™, the built environment’s most rigorous and ambitious performance standard
  • Living Community Challenge™, applying Living Building concepts to entire communities or cities
  • Living Product Challenge™, challenging designers and manufacturers to create net positive products
  • Net Zero Energy Building Certification™, certifying successful energy conservation in both new and existing buildings
  • Just™, the social justice label for organizations
  • Declare™, the materials nutrition label
  • Reveal™, the energy efficiency label for buildings