How we’re solving our shared materials challenges
A mindful Mission
Whether you’re new to this industry or you’ve been around the materials block a few times, have you ever had this nagging feeling that if we’re all working toward similar goals and battling through the same challenges, we might just have a ton more impact if we were all on the same page.
The most effective path to impact (averting climate disaster, decreasing the use and exposure of toxic chemicals, preserving critical ecosystems — and so on) is a path we take together. At mindful MATERIALS we’re convening people, building a common language, sending a clear market signal, and working to connect and contextualize materials data so each effort goes further than it would alone. All for alignment. All for impact.
Our Mission
Inspire, motivate, and empower everyone to choose materials that prioritize health holistically
Our Vision
A materials economy that respects and protects the health of all people, communities, and ecosystems
Our Purpose
Illuminate an aligned path for materials and activate the community and data to reach it
Future, faster, together
Our Theory of Change
Material sustainability poses significant challenges to the building industry, as the embodied impacts of materials are often disregarded and difficult to address confidently. Fragmented approaches to solutions have widened the gap between industry leaders and others, resulting in heightened confusion and reduced adoption rates. Despite progress in promoting material transparency and optimization, owners and manufacturers lack clear market demands and measurable ROI mechanisms. This leads to inefficiencies and wasted resources in addressing the holistic impacts of products within projects.
But there is a solution on the horizon and we call it our Levers for Change — a Common Language, a Clear Market Signal, and Connected Data.
Strategy + Impact
This is mindful MATERIALS first strategic plan as an organization since becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2022, but it's not our first rodeo. We are built on over a decade of collective action, collaboration and engagement that have made mM a trusted, neutral home for materials sustainability.
Over the next three years, there is an incredible opportunity to build on recent industry momentum, materials pledges, new leadership, and a deep hunger for next steps and accountability.
It’s All Alignment
No one ever said achieving the materials easy button would be … easy. But by aligning around a common language and clear market signal, we can move further together.
A Mindful Timeline
mindful MATERIALS has evolved a lot over our time from a labeling system to a neutral nonprofit. And our history informs our approach every day, using it to remain true to our vision of sharing, collaboration, alignment, and amplification by the industry, for the industry.
HKS, a global design firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas, establishes an internal labeling system that made transparency and optimization information easily accessible to designers as they select products. The larger design industry takes interest in the labeling system because of its simplicity and HKS made the mindful MATERIALS resources publicly available to other design professionals and manufacturers.
mM label takes off across the U.S., but label changes by each firm risk market confusion. Founding firms convene to form the mM Collaborative, a unified national endeavor to drive consistency + aligned industry demand.
The number of labels and materials to manage can get out of hand on a single label. A cloud-based database is launched to create a more efficient digital interface for manufacturers and AEC to connect over product transparency.
Inspired by the “5 Buckets” of AIA’s A+D Materials Pledge and the urgency created by similar industry pledges, mM identified a crucial need to unify next steps for signatories via a common language for sustainability. mM convenes cross-sector working groups to build the first Common Materials Framework for building products.
CMF v1 is complete, mapping and organization 600+ data points derived from across 100+ certifications and standards. Framework is formally adopted by AIA as the foundation for its materials pledge metrics.
IRS grants mindful MATERIALS 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
mM launches a beta product portal powered by ecomedes, bringing together certifications and product data, with the CMF acting as a filter for understanding sustainability impact. In the portal, the CMF is digitized to the “sub-bucket” level across all impact areas.
mM launches the Forums representing over 40 proven materials leaders in the building industry to find common ground, identify alignment opportunities, build shared resources and knowledge, and accelerate impact by sending a clear market signal. The true power in the Forums is cross-industry stakeholders coming together to find common ground, identify alignment opportunities, build shared resources and knowledge, and accelerate impact by sending a clear market signal.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), join forces with mindful MATERIALS (mM) in aligning around the Common Materials Framework, which establishes for the first time a common language for holistic material sustainability in the building industry.
mM launches the Collaboration Hub, a digital platform is designed to empower mM members with opportunities to connect, collaborate, and share knowledge and resources related to all things sustainable materials. The Hub serves as a place to connect with other people across disciplines throughout the mindful MATERIALS community.
Building off of the work of the Forum Groups, a focused and prioritized subset of the CMF was created. Engage in this work now →