The journey toward safer building materials has reached a critical juncture. With over 13,000 Health Product Declarations now published, the industry has unprecedented insight into chemical content across building products. But as Dr. Joel Tickner emphasized in his keynote address at the Material Health Open Innovation Symposium V, knowing what’s in our materials is just the beginning.

“Knowing there’s a problem doesn’t solve it on its own,” Dr. Tickner stated, challenging the audience to move beyond identification toward transformation. As the executive director of change chemistry and distinguished professor at UMass, his message carried the weight of decades of experience in sustainable chemistry innovation.

Dr. Tickner presented a comprehensive vision for industry transformation, introducing the concept of “radical collaboration” as the cornerstone for scaling sustainable alternatives. This approach requires unprecedented cooperation across value chains, from material designers to policymakers. He outlined how eliminating hazards at the source creates a domino effect, simultaneously addressing toxicity, climate impact, and circularity challenges.

The urgency for this transformation has never been greater. Recent research reveals that climate change is exacerbating chemical risks, as warming buildings may increase the release of hazardous substances into indoor environments. This compounds the existing challenges of material health and emphasizes the need for systemic change.

Success, according to Dr. Tickner, demands a 20-year transition framework that aligns policy support, market demands, and strategic investments. This long-term vision must address the “valley of death” between innovation and commercialization – a critical gap where many promising alternatives currently falter.

The path forward requires bold leadership and commitment from all industry stakeholders. As Dr. Tickner concluded, the future of sustainable building materials depends not just on identifying problems, but on our collective ability to scale solutions through unprecedented collaboration and innovation.

Using HPD data from over 6,000 products, Dr. Mondal’s team discovered that a typical US house contains approximately 240 grams of pure formaldehyde, with pressed wood products being the largest contributor. His research revealed that resins had the highest probability (20%) of containing formaldehyde among building materials.

The study introduces an innovative framework for tracking chemical exposure through wastewater-based epidemiology, offering a cost-effective alternative to clinical testing. This approach, successfully used during COVID-19, could help identify exposure patterns across communities.

Mondal’s findings highlight significant public health implications, including potential cancer risks and associated healthcare costs reaching $65 million annually. The research emphasizes the importance of understanding chemical contents in building materials and their long-term health effects on occupants, particularly given that people spend approximately 90% of their lives indoors.

Smith shared insights from a comprehensive study that analyzed 603 building products across four building types, using the Green Science Policy Institute’s “Six Classes” approach as a foundation. The research revealed that while only 21.5% of products had Health Product Declarations (HPDs), those that did provided detailed information at 100 parts per million. Notably, 52 products with HPDs contained at least one of the 12 chemical classes of concern.

The study uncovered crucial connections between healthy materials, cost, and carbon impact. Alternative products without concerning chemicals typically showed lower embodied carbon, though cost implications varied widely. While the median cost increase for alternatives was 40%, some healthier options were actually less expensive.

Smith emphasized that regulation alone cannot address chemical concerns, calling for continued advocacy from designers, specifiers, manufacturers, and ecosystem partners. Her presentation highlighted how tools like HPD Pre-Checks are streamlining assessment processes, demonstrating that despite challenges, systematic approaches can drive meaningful progress in material health.

At our HPDC’s Material Health Open Innovation Symposium V, Chris Brown of Mahlum Architects presented a compelling case study on how thoughtful material selection created inclusive, healthy spaces at the Washington State School for the Blind’s Life Skills Training Center. The project, which earned LEED Gold certification, demonstrates innovative approaches to material health and sensory design.

Brown detailed how his project team, including blind architect Chris Downey and Mass Design Group, focused on creating a sensory-rich environment that moved beyond basic ADA compliance toward true self-actualization for visually impaired students. The facility combines residential spaces for students transitioning to independent living with offices for the Washington State Department of Services for the Blind.

In his presentation, Brown emphasized how material selection prioritized healthy ingredients while engaging multiple senses. The team incorporated natural wood extensively, including acoustic dowel laminated timber that served both structural and sound-dampening purposes. Every material choice required careful consideration of tactile qualities and acoustic properties. The project exceeded material ingredient transparency goals, with 59 Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and numerous optimization credits.

Through this case study, Brown illustrated how healthy materials can enhance both environmental sustainability and user experience in inclusive architecture

Drawing from a comprehensive analysis of 7,200 HPDs representing 544 suppliers, Glass revealed some encouraging findings. Despite the large dataset containing nearly 82,000 disclosed substances, there were only 2,600 unique chemicals identified – a surprisingly manageable number. Of these, 37% already qualified as safer chemistry, with 54% having confident hazard band assignments.

Glass introduced the concept of “Metric Zero,” a framework for understanding what’s known and unknown about chemicals in use. The presentation demonstrated how targeted investment in chemical hazard assessments could efficiently close data gaps across multiple products. For example, just seven chemical hazard assessments in progress could fill nearly 900 data gaps across the HPD database.

HPDC members can now participate in the HPD Builder-Chem Forward pilot program to receive ABC hazard bands for their HPDs, marking an important step toward optimizing product chemistry.