The Living Building Challenge
The Living Building Challenge™ (LBC™) program is an international certification program of the International Living Future Institute™ (http://living-future.org/) committed to the construction of buildings and sites that are regenerative. The LBC™ requirements include educational mandates as the building and the site must showcase, for users and the public, the ongoing restorative principals through design elements: renewable energy, no Red List toxic chemicals, reclaimed rainwater, composting toilets, rain gardens and agricultural offset land. Certification is only attained after a full year of success in achieving the design elements.
In undertaking the challenge of seeking LBC™ certification for the new Welcome Center, the Lloyd Center is committing to a project novel to New England that will enrich the Center’s environmental education programs. As a LBC™ building entails actually making a net positive contribution to the environment, it endorses a level of excellence that can then be aligned with and enhance the level of excellence already integral to our education programs. The certification process will also create opportunities for collaborations with other non-profits, thereby providing additional educational opportunities. Once an organization has an LBC™ building, the International Living Future Institute makes all aspects of the project – from the initial case study to the complete design process to the on-going elements of sustainable functioning -- available throughout the world on its website. Thus, in undertaking this project, the Lloyd Center is not only accepting local and regional environmental responsibility, but also agreeing to help others in developing both sustainable buildings and the environmental education programs associated with them. Opportunities will allow the Center to share its environmental excellence in new ways and to the global community.