Healthy Building Network

HBN IS THE LEADING NATIONAL ORGANIZATION ADVOCATING FOR A REDUCTION IN THE USE OF TOXIC CHEMICALS IN BUILDING MATERIALS. HBN'S MISSION IS TO ADVANCE HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH BY IMPROVING HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL TRANSPARENCY AND INSPIRING PRODUCT INNOVATION.

HEALTHY BUILDING NETWORK CURRENTLY HAS PROGRAMS IN THREE AREAS: INNOVATIVE RESEARCH; POWERFUL DATA TOOLS; AND CAPACITY-BUILDING EDUCATION. 1.INNOVATIVE RESEARCH HBN PUBLISHES INNOVATIVE, ACTIONABLE RESEARCH THAT ADVANCES HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. FOR EXAMPLE, KAISER PERMANENTE CITED HBN'S RESEARCH AS THE DRIVER FOR ITS DECISION TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF ANTIMICROBIAL ADDITIVES IN ITS BUILDING PRODUCT SPECIFICATION, AND THE HOME DEPOT RELIED UPON HBN'S RESEARCH TO ADOPT A HAZARD AVOIDANCE CHEMICAL STRATEGY THAT SIGNALS FUNDAMENTAL, PERMANENT AND SYSTEMIC IMPROVEMENT IN THE BUILDING PRODUCTS INDUSTRY, AND IS A STRONG STEP TOWARDS HEALTH EQUITY IN BUILDING PRODUCTS. IN ADDITION, OUR INFLUENTIAL ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS REACH THOUSANDS OF HEALTHY BUILDING PROFESSIONALS, SCIENTISTS, RESEARCHERS AND OTHERS INTERESTED IN DECREASING CHEMICALS OF CONCERN AND ARE KEY RESOURCES FOR OPINION LEADERS IN THE FIELD. AS A THOUGHT LEADER, HBN FOCUSES ON MARKET TRENDS AND POLICY ISSUES THAT IMPACT THE GREEN BUILDING COMMUNITY AND OTHER PRODUCT MARKETS THAT SUPPORT A CIRCULAR ECONOMY. IN COMMUNICATING OUR LATEST RESEARCH FINDINGS WE ARE OFTEN THE FIRST TO RAISE NEW ISSUES OF CONCERN THAT CROSS-CUT SECTORS, LIKE ISSUES RELATED TO PLASTICS, EMBODIED CARBON, AND CLIMATE CHANGE. 2.POWERFUL DATA TOOLS HBN OFFERS DATA TOOLS DESIGNED TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE, PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY AND INSPIRE PRODUCT INNOVATION. IT IS CURRENTLY DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY HEALTHIER BUILDING MATERIALS AND OTHER TYPES OF PRODUCTS BECAUSE PRODUCT INGREDIENTS ARE NOT TYPICALLY OR RELIABLY DISCLOSED BY INDUSTRY. HBN IS AN ACKNOWLEDGED LEADER IN ADVANCING THE DISCLOSURE OF THE CONTENTS AND RELATED HEALTH HAZARDS IN COMMONLY USED BUILDING PRODUCTS, AND WE ARE ADVANCING RESOURCES IN OTHER SECTORS. OUR DATA TOOLS INCLUDE: PHAROS: THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE INDEPENDENT DATABASE OF CHEMICALS, POLYMERS, METALS, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES - CURRENTLY OVER 146,000 CHEMICALS AND GROWING. IT IS USED ACROSS SECTORS, INCLUDING THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, ELECTRONICS, FOOD PACKAGING, BEAUTY AND PERSONAL CARE, AND MANY OTHER CONSUMER PRODUCTS. USING DOZENS OF SCIENTIFIC LISTS FOR SPECIFIC HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH HAZARDS, IT AGGREGATES A VAST ARRAY OF INFORMATION USED FOR ANALYZING CHEMICALS OF CONCERN. THE TOOL ALSO PROVIDES A WEALTH OF INFORMATION ON CERTIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS USED TO MEASURE THE HEALTH IMPACTS OF CHEMICALS AND MATERIALS, INCLUDING VOC CONTENT AND EMISSIONS, RECYCLED AND BIOBASED CONTENT, AND MUCH MORE. PRODUCT SCREENING: LEVERAGING OUR COMMON PRODUCT RESEARCH METHODOLOGY HBN IS ABLE TO SCREEN PRODUCT TYPES (I.E., FLOORING, INSULATION, PAINT, ETC.) WHERE TRANSPARENCY FROM MANUFACTURERS IS INCOMPLETE OR SIMPLY DOES NOT EXIST. LEVERAGING THIS METHODOLOGY HBN IS ABLE TO CLASSIFY THE PRODUCT TYPES INTO A RED TO GREEN (WORST TO BEST) RANKING. ACCESS TO THESE PRODUCT TYPE RANKINGS IS PROVIDED THROUGH OUR WEBSITE OR AS AN APPLICATION PROGRAM INTERFACE (API) TO THIRD PARTY ORGANIZATIONS. CHEMFORWARD: FISCALLY SPONSORED BY HBN, THE PROGRAM'S MISSION IS TO BE THE MOST-TRUSTED SOURCE FOR ACTIONABLE CHEMICAL HAZARD INFORMATION THAT EMPOWERS SUPPLIERS, MANUFACTURERS AND BRANDS ACROSS ALL SECTORS TO CREATE PRODUCTS THAT ARE SAFE FOR PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT. THE MISSION WILL BE REALIZED BY COLLABORATING WITH THE VALUE CHAIN TO PROVIDE COST-EFFICIENT ACCESS TO VERIFIED, ACTIONABLE CHEMICAL HAZARD INFORMATION AND THEREBY ENABLE BETTER CHEMISTRY IN PRODUCT DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING. IN THE LANDSCAPE OF MATERIAL-HEALTH AND SAFER CHEMISTRY INITIATIVES, CHEMFORWARD SUPPORTS ORGANIZATIONS DEVELOPING CHEMICAL GUIDELINES (RETAILERS, BRANDS, NGOS, CERTIFIERS) THAT PROVIDE TRUSTED EVIDENCE-BASE SAFER PRODUCTS. SUM DECELERATOR: FISCALLY SPONSORED BY HBN, THE PROGRAM'S GOAL IS EDUCATING THE FOOD INDUSTRY ON THE IMPACT OF SINGLE USE PACKAGING AND TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE THEIR COMMON USE TO IMPROVE BOTH HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL WELL-BEING. 3.CAPACITY-BUILDING EDUCATION HBN'S PRIMARY EDUCATION PROGRAM IS HOMEFREE, A NATIONAL INITIATIVE SUPPORTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING LEADERS WHO ARE IMPROVING HUMAN HEALTH BY USING LESS TOXIC BUILDING MATERIALS. HOMEFREE IS COMPRISED OF AN ONLINE RESOURCE PROVIDING CRITICAL INFORMATION TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE, SPOTLIGHTING ON-THE GROUND DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THROUGH HOMEFREE, HBN IS ENABLING THOSE WHO DEVELOP, OWN AND OPERATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO WORK AT THE FOREFRONT OF HEALTHY BUILDING PRACTICE BY ADAPTING OUR LEADING-EDGE RESEARCH AND DECISION-MAKING TECHNOLOGY TO THE UNIQUE NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS MARKET.