The Declare Label is a product transparency disclosure that identifies where a product comes from, what it’s made of, and where it goes at the end of its life. Declare Labels can contribute to the Living Building Challenge and LEED v4.
What is a Declare Label?
Declare is owned and operated by The International Living Future Institute. Declare is a voluntary self-disclosure program aiming to transform the building materials industry toward healthier products through ingredient transparency. Like the HPD, the Declare Label can be used to meet LEED v4 MR credit requirements. Declare labels that achieve a declaration status of “Red List Free” or “Declared” can fulfill the credit disclosure requirements for LEED v4.
The Declare Label has more stringent requirements than the HPD. Product contents must be disclosed by chemical name and CAS number to at least 100 ppm (0.01%), with few exceptions allowed. There are additional requirements for building products that have the potential to emit VOCs. Declare Labels may be more appropriate for manufacturers who are farther along in their sustainability journey.
Elixir Environmental helps building product manufacturers develop Declare Labels to meet the requirements for LEED v4, LBC, and mindful MATERIALS. Developing Declare Labels can be very difficult for some building product manufacturers.
Elixir Environmental assists manufacturers with:
- Manage the Declare project from beginning to end
- Identify all ingredients in your product
- Work with your supply chain to collect information
- Obtain data via Non-Disclosure Agreements
- Review and evaluate data from suppliers
- Help you publish a Declare Label
- Generate spec data for mindful MATERIALS
The Red List
The Red List has been a buzzword in the industry for years. Red List chemicals are banned for Living Building Challenge projects although there are a few exceptions. The Red List contains the worst in class materials prevalent in the building industry.
The commonly-used chemicals on the Red List are:
- Polluting the environment
- Bio-accumulating up the food chain until they reach toxic concentrations
- Harming construction and factory workers
Red List Free products are 100% disclosed and do not contain any Red List ingredients. They have been shown to meet emissions testing criteria, if applicable, and meet the Materials requirements of the Living Building Challenge. ▪
For more information on the Declare Label, please visit Living Future