Some of the world’s leading green building organizations have joined forces to harmonize how sustainable building products and materials are assessed.
The Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), mindful MATERIALS, Living Future, the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced a new international partnership to create consistency across rating systems including BREEAM, Green Star, LEED, Living Building Challenge, and WELL.
The coalition said construction is responsible for more than half of the world’s raw materials extraction, yet the tools and frameworks used to measure the impacts of building products often differ, creating confusion and duplication for manufacturers, designers, and building owners. Additionally, with the emergence of more stringent sustainability reporting requirements being driven by frameworks such as the Taskforce for Climate- and Nature-related Financial Disclosures and other international standards guiding sustainability, it is vital that reporting metrics align to enable benchmarking and measurement, according to the coalition.
This partnership will work to cut through the complexity by creating a shared language and approach for materials assessment. The aim is to adopt a common language, align data and metrics, and establish global targets for climate, nature, and circularity.
Once these objectives are achieved:
- Manufacturers will be able to prioritize sustainable products and report data in a more streamlined way;
- Specifiers will have clearer access to verified claims and be better able to compare product information; and
- Building owners will be better placed to meet sustainability commitments and future-proof their assets by aligning with global standards.
“Industry needs a clear and consistent signal on what good performance looks like,” said USGBC Chief Products Officer Sarah Zaleski. “This partnership will support the global supply chain and make it easier for building projects everywhere to choose materials that drive better outcomes for people and the planet.”
Rachel Hodgdon, president and CEO of IWBI, added that the initiative is about not only environmental issues but also social- and health-related ones.
“Creating a unified approach to materials assessment that puts human health at the center of decision making will accelerate the adoption of healthier, more sustainable products all around the world,” said Hodgdon.
The coalition’s first deliverable will be a call to action outlining the goals of the partnership in greater detail and raising an awareness of the importance of aligned goals. A principles and metrics paper is planned for 2026, setting out the roadmap for alignment. Further work will follow to integrate the shared approach across rating tools and provide clear guidance for industry.
Read the full announcement here.
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