Strategies for Procurement of Carbon-Neutral Resources for Extensive Developments

Aiming for a greener, more sustainable future, luxury interior design shifting from an extractive and exploitative approach to an intention-driven one. Discover ways to reform your practice, lessening your industry's waste production.

Reflection Questions

When was the last time you scrutinized a material beyond its aesthetics, evaluating factors such as environmental impact, sourcing process, and life cycle?
Can you identify one or two categories within your sourcing process where lower-impact or carbon-neutral materials could be integrated without compromising overall vision?
How should you discuss sustainability with clients, and how might reframing conversations around beauty, wellness, and values increase their buy-in?

Journal Prompt

Think back to a recent project where choices were dictated by availability, budget, or aesthetic fit. Considering sustainability from the start, how might your choices have differed? Explore one material you'd reconsider and the lower-impact alternative you'd source next time, all while upholding design intent.

For several years, sustainability has dominated design discussions, but it seldom appears as practical or aesthetically pleasing as we'd wish. The term "carbon-neutral" pops up frequently in product descriptions, PR pitches, and educational webinars, but making eco-friendly choices on a large-scale project can be challenging.

What exactly qualifies as carbon-neutral? How can you verify a vendor's claims? Will clients genuinely care if you switch out one fabric or flooring product for a more environmentally responsible option?

Sustainability is less about a single finish or feature swap and more about adopting a framework. Incorporating carbon-neutral or carbon-positive materials into your process, particularly at scale, necessitates clarity, education, and some persistent creativity. Yet, when executed well, results can be as beautiful, functional, and elevated as anything you've previously sourced.

Ready to embark on a more responsible design journey, without compromising aesthetics or scale? Let's explore your options.

Starting with the Basics: Understanding Carbon-Neutral Materials

Carbon-neutral materials produce no net increase in carbon dioxide emissions across their life cycle. This encompasses stages ranging from raw material extraction and manufacturing to transportation, installation, and disposal or reuse.

Some materials are inherently low-impact, such as reclaimed wood or recycled steel. Others bear the carbon-neutral label due to renewable energy use or carbon credits in the manufacturing process. While a material may not be carbon-neutral on its own, the company producing it might invest in offsetting initiatives to reach net-zero impact.

The terminology can be confusing; some companies use greenwashing tactics to confound consumers. Carbon-neutral, carbon-negative, low embodied carbon, and carbon offset all have nuanced meanings. To make informed decisions concerning eco-friendly materials, you'll need to recognize what to look for and what questions to ask.

Sustainability Matters for Interior Designers – Even If You're Not LEED-Certified

Large-scale projects, such as multi-room residential, boutique hospitality, and light commercial, require significant quantities of materials. Considering the amount of flooring, upholstery, millwork, insulation, wallcovering, and stone involved in a 6,000-square-foot home or 30-key inn, carbon emissions add up quickly.

As the designer, you may not handle engineering or mechanical systems, yet you control what enters the space – chairs, drapery, paint, countertops, and more. These factors can substantially impact a project's environmental footprint, regardless of if your client directly requests sustainability considerations.

Even without explicit client inquiries, they may still value health, longevity, or ethical sourcing. And carbon-neutral materials often touch on all three aspects. With recent advancements in material technology, switching out select items without compromising design aesthetics is more feasible.

Evaluating the Carbon Footprint of Your Sourced Materials

To integrate carbon-neutral materials meaningfully into your projects, more than a vague understanding of eco-friendliness is needed. Visibility from tools, certifications, and trusted frameworks is essential to better grasp the impact of what you're specifying, focusing on tangible impacts beyond marketing copy.

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Think of an EPD as a nutritional label for materials, breaking down information on carbon emissions, energy use, and environmental impact. Third-party verified, EPDs offer a level of transparency that's challenging to fake. They account for every stage of the product's life cycle, from extraction to disposal.

If a material has an EPD, it usually signifies the manufacturer prioritizes sustainability. While interpreting one might require some practice, basic interpretations are achievable without an environmental engineering degree. Focus on the Global Warming Potential (GWP) value; it will provide a sense of the material's carbon footprint. A lower GWP indicates a more eco-friendly choice.

The Carbon Smart Materials Palette and Mindful Materials/Material Bank Filters^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The Carbon Smart Materials Palette, developed by the Carbon Leadership Forum, is one of the more designer-friendly resources out there. It concentrates on material categories rather than brands, proving handy during the early stages of the design process when deciding between different types of insulation, sheathing, finishes, or wall assemblies.

The palette offers clear, actionable insights, providing comparisons between various material categories without focusing solely on replacements or alternatives. This makes it ideal for designers working on mid-to-large-scale projects who need guidance without an advanced carbon science degree.

Mindful Materials and Material Bank platforms also include filters and tags for carbon-related attributes, making it easier to incorporate sustainability into your sourcing workflow. Over time, as more manufacturers standardize carbon reporting, tools like these will grow stronger. As of now, they provide an excellent starting point.

Certifications to Look For

Certifications may not tell the whole story, but they offer helpful shortcuts, helping filter out greenwashing. Examples include Cradle to Cradle Certified, Declare labels from the International Living Future Institute (focusing on ingredient transparency and including data on carbon footprint and emissions), and FSC Certification for responsibly managed forests.

When a product carries one or more of these certifications, it signifies the manufacturer invests in more rigorous sourcing and lifecycle accountability. Ensure vendors provide documentation or proof of their claims as a reputable supplier would.

Remember to Consider Waste

Sourcing the right materials is crucial, but so is waste management. Ensuring efficient use of materials, minimizing waste throughout large projects, and participating in recycling programs for packaging, offcuts, or outdated samples is vital. Be creative with leftovers, using them for powder rooms, back-of-house spaces, or custom furniture applications.

Closing Thoughts

Sustainable design is all about progress, not perfection. Educate yourself, ask questions, and keep pushing your practice forward. As you work on large-scale projects, small changes can accumulate to make a difference.

Start today by joining the DesignDash community to connect, learn, and be inspired. Together, we can redefine luxury interior design as thoughtful, sustainable, and beautiful.

Stay tuned for the Focus & Flex challenge. Sign up now, share, and let's shape the future of sustainable design together.

By examining materials beyond their aesthetics, one can evaluate factors such as environmental impact, sourcing process, and life cycle.*categories within your sourcing process where lower-impact or carbon-neutral materials could be integrated include flooring, upholstery, millwork, insulation, wallcovering, and stone.
Discussing sustainability with clients can be improved by framing conversations around beauty, wellness, and values to increase their buy-in.
Changes in material choices, such as sourcing reclaimed wood or recycled steel, can reduce a project's environmental footprint and contribute to sustainable living.
Understanding Carbon-Neutral materials involves knowing that they produce no net increase in carbon dioxide emissions across their life cycle, including raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, installation, and disposal or reuse.
Third-party verified Environmental Product Declarations, tools like the Carbon Smart Materials Palette, and certifications such as Cradle to Cradle Certified, Declare labels, and FSC Certification can help simplify the process of choosing eco-friendly materials.

Strategies for Procurement of Carbon-Neutral Resources for Extensive Developments