(MENAFN- EIN Presswire) EINPresswire/ -- The Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPDC ) concluded its sixth annual Material Health Open Innovation Symposium, bringing together hundreds of industry leaders, manufacturers, architects, and sustainability professionals to advance transparency and material health in the built environment.

"We're at a pivotal moment for the Healthy Materials Movement," said Mike Manzi, Chair of HPDC's Board of Directors and partner at Bora Architects. "With over 40,000 building products now in the HPD repository, the design community has unprecedented access to product health information. The challenge now is ensuring this critical work continues and expands."

Keynote Speaker Unveils Progress in Cross-Industry Chemical Safety

Keynote speaker Bill Walsh, formerly of Healthy Building Network and now leading the Safer Chemistry Impact Fund, shared data on characterizing chemical hazards across multiple industries. The beauty and personal care sector demonstrated remarkable progress, with characterized chemicals increasing from 69% in 2023 to 76% in 2024, while chemical hazard assessment costs dropped to approximately $1 per ingredient.

"We're proving that this problem is manageable sector by sector," Walsh explained. "By aggregating efforts and sharing data, we're creating pathways for safer chemistry alternatives that can be replicated across industries, including building products."

Walsh invited the building products industry to form similar coalitions in sectors like coatings, textiles, and insulation, following the proven model established by corporate partners including Apple, Patagonia, Lululemon, and Google.

All-Star Case Studies Demonstrate Innovation Without Compromise

The symposium's All-Star Case Studies session featured four manufacturers who demonstrated that sustainable products can match or exceed conventional materials:

Shaw Industries launched EcoWorx Resilient, a PVC-free resilient flooring solution delivering competitive pricing, heavy-duty performance, and a circular economy take-back program. Nearly 90% of Shaw's products are now Cradle to Cradle certified, with no-cost take-back pickup and an environmental guarantee.

TerraMai shared the story of Faux Sugi Ban, a revolutionary approach to achieving the charred wood aesthetic without smoke, particulates, or petroleum-based finishes. Kevin Kowal, Vice President at TerraMai, described how the 2011 HBO New York office project sparked the innovation: "Our client wanted texture, a matte finish, and no mess. Burning was just one pathway, not the only solution."

Coal Tar Free America presented the culmination of a 20-year advocacy campaign that achieved over 100 local bans, 6 state bans, and protection for nearly 100 million U.S. residents. Tom Ennis announced that the last commercially available toxic coal tar pavement sealant in North America went off the market in 2025. "This represents 30 million pounds of annual toxin reduction," Ennis said.

Pliteq Inc. showcased how the company transforms post-consumer tires into high-performance acoustic and flooring products with 90-94% recycled content and zero VOC emissions. Pelin Tezcan highlighted the Yale Divinity School project – the largest Living Building Challenge certified housing complex on a university campus.

Common Materials Framework Advances Industry Alignment

A central theme was the Common Materials Framework (CMF), advancing alignment across the U.S. Green Building Council, International WELL Building Institute, American Institute of Architects Materials Pledge, mindful MATERIALS, and HPDC.

"We're seeing the industry speak a common language about product sustainability for the first time," said Barbra BatShalom, Founder & CEO of BuildingEase. "The Common Materials Framework eliminates confusion where sustainable materials means different things to different people."

Wes Sullens, Director of Materials & Resources at USGBC, discussed LEED Version 5's alignment with the CMF through its new Building Product Selection and Procurement (BPSP) credit, to be demonstrated at Greenbuild in November 2025. The multi-attribute credit rewards products across five criteria: circular economy, human health, climate health, ecosystem health, and social equity.

Rodolfo Perez, Senior Director of Standard Development for Water and Materials at IWBI, shared how the WELL Building Standard has evolved from scattered material strategies to a centralized Materials concept, now operating in 130+ countries. He announced WELL's new Fair Built Products feature, addressing modern slavery and labor practices in material supply chains.

"We're expanding our definition of health from building occupants to the entire supply chain," Perez said. "With 28 million people currently in forced labor conditions, we're providing a roadmap for manufacturers to demonstrate fair wages and transparent supply chain audits."

Technology Platforms Make Material Health Data Accessible

Four leading platforms demonstrated how they're integrating material health data, making it easier for project teams to specify sustainable products:

BuildingEase launched Basic Better Best (BBB), an automated product evaluation system built on the Common Materials Framework that makes high-performance material selection accessible to every project team.

Acelab unveiled its digital data API integration with HPDC, making Health Product Declaration data actionable rather than PDF-only.

Ecomedes showcased its Scout AI tool (in beta) that helps users who don't "speak sustainability" translate plain language into detailed material requirements. The platform serves 30,000 professionals monthly with access to over 2,200 manufacturers.

Sustainable Minds previewed real-time LEED v5 and AIA Materials Pledge reporting capabilities in its Project Builder platform. "We're making information easy to understand and use to make decisions, not just easy to find," said Terry Swack, Founder & CEO.

Looking Forward: Scaling from Specialty to Standard

Symposium speakers emphasized that the tools, frameworks, and infrastructure are now in place to scale material health from specialty practice to industry standard.

"Let's not let perfect be the enemy of the good," Perez concluded. "We need to meet people where they are and make it accessible to transform the market at scale."

The symposium concluded with a panel discussion featuring all ecosystem presenters, moderated by Wendy Vittori, Executive Director of HPDC, addressing alignment, data quality, and the future of material health transparency.

About the Health Product Declaration Collaborative

The Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPDC) is a customer-led organization that maintains the Health Product Declaration (HPD) Open Standard for transparent reporting of product contents and associated health information. The HPD is used by thousands of manufacturers globally to communicate product ingredient transparency to architects, designers, building owners, and rating systems including LEED, WELL, and Living Building Challenge. With over 40,000 products in the HPD repository, HPDC continues to lead the material health transparency movement.

MENAFN17112025003118003196ID1110357258