Rating Systems & Program Partner Relationships
Below is a summary of our ongoing relationships with key industry partners. Our relationships with industry rating systems and program partners continue to expand and evolve; check back regularly for updates.
At mindful MATERIALS, our role—often called the “UN of Sustainable Materials”—is to align efforts and accelerate progress across the built environment. We exist to connect, not compete—amplifying the work of our peers while building the shared structure that makes it all work together.
Our partners make this possible, bringing the expertise and leadership needed to strengthen a connected, transparent, and scalable materials ecosystem.
“Progress happens when we stop working in silos and start building together," says Annie Bevan, mindful MATERIALS President. "Alignment isn’t just collaboration—it’s how we turn shared values into shared results.”
American Institute of Architects (AIA)
The Common Materials Framework (CMF) builds on the foundation of the AIA Materials Pledge and its five impact areas introduced in 2018. With more than 200 signatories, AIA and mindful MATERIALS are aligning guidance to make material vetting and reporting more streamlined, interoperable, and automated—turning the Pledge into measurable progress.
The AIA Materials Pledge Product Reporting Requirements are fully crosswalked to CMF Prioritization v1.0 (coming soon in the Airtable tool), enabling manufacturers and AEC/O teams to align, automate, and advance shared impact goals. AIA, with support from mM, will also expand materials-related education in 2026 and beyond.
mM Collaborates closely with the AIA Materials Pledge Working Group and AIA Staff to align pledge reporting requirements in sync with the CMF Prioritization v1.0 and Data Ecosystem.
Large Firm Round Table (LFRT)
The Large Firm Round Table brings together leading architecture and design firms around the world to share insights and accelerate the development of key industry resources that advance sustainable practice. mindful MATERIALS and the LFRT collaborate to strengthen the usefulness of the Common Materials Framework (CMF) and the connected data ecosystem—helping firms translate alignment into action across their projects.
International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)
mindful MATERIALS and IWBI are united in advancing healthier, more sustainable material decisions across the built environment. Through crosswalking WELL v2 Material Features with the Common Materials Framework (CMF) Prioritization v1.0, this collaboration creates alignment and consistency across frameworks—making it easier for AEC/O teams and manufacturers to streamline reporting, data exchange, and certification workflows. Together, mM and IWBI are simplifying alignment between rating systems and the CMF to accelerate impact reduction and achieve a healthier, more sustainable world.
Living Future (formerly International Living Future Institute)
mindful MATERIALS and Living Future are collaborating to scale transparent, connected, multi-attribute product decision-making through alignment with the Living Building Challenge, Declare, and Living Product Challenge programs. This partnership bridges manufacturer data with design best practices, enabling AEC/O teams to meet LBC requirements confidently while integrating verified, standardized product data through the CMF. By crosswalking LBC Materials Imperatives with the CMF Prioritization v1.0, mM and LF are reinforcing a shared vision: empowering material transparency and performance optimization across the building industry.
United States Green Building Council (USGBC)
With LEED v5, USGBC and mindful MATERIALS are accelerating the industry’s shift toward connected, automated material data that supports multi-attribute decision-making. By crosswalking LEED v5 Material Credits to the CMF Prioritization v1.0, this partnership strengthens alignment between green building certification systems and the data ecosystem that powers them. Together, mM and USGBC are driving the adoption of a shared framework that simplifies compliance, enhances data consistency, and advances the collective mission for more sustainable buildings and better outcomes for people and planet.
Global Alignment
The world’s leading green building rating systems—BRE, GBCA, Living Future, IWBI, and USGBC—have announced a global partnership to harmonize sustainable product assessment. By aligning rating systems such as Green Star, LEED, BREEAM, Living Building Challenge, and WELL, this initiative delivers a shared language, consistent metrics, and unified targets for climate, nature, and circularity.
Manufacturers can streamline reporting, specifiers gain clearer data, and owners can better meet sustainability commitments. Learn more in the Global Harmonization Press Release here.
Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF)
mindful MATERIALS recognizes CLF’s leadership in advancing embodied carbon literacy and data transparency. CLF’s embodied carbon baselines for product categories provide essential references for setting performance targets across programs. The Climate Health section of the CMF Prioritization v1.0 aligns directly with CLF’s ECHO Project, a precedent-setting roadmap for industry collaboration.
Design for Freedom (DFF) by Grace Farms Foundation
mindful MATERIALS collaborates with Grace Farms Foundation’s Design for Freedom Movement to integrate social health and equity considerations—including forced and child labor risks—into the CMF Prioritization v1.0. Together with HPDC and other partners, DFF developed a list of standards addressing social equity at varying levels, now embedded with CMF Prioritization v1.0.
This collaboration ensures greater alignment, reduced redundancy, and a stronger foundation for tracking and improving material equity and transparency across the building materials supply chain.
Habitable
mindful MATERIALS partners with Habitable to connect science and research-based product intelligence with the CMF framework, advancing informed, data-driven material decisions. By aligning the Habitable Informed™ Tool with CMF resources, we’re helping project teams evaluate products based on verified data and meaningful impact. Learn more about this shared vision [here], with expanded collaboration coming in 2026 and beyond.
Building Transparency (BT)
Together with Building Transparency (BT), mindful MATERIALS is advancing the digital infrastructure that underpins the materials data ecosystem. BT leads global efforts to digitize and standardize LCA and EPD data through its EC3 tool, which the Climate Health section of the CMF Prioritization v1.0 recognizes as a priority resource for structured embodied carbon data. This collaboration reinforces shared goals of interoperability, transparency, and measurable impact.
Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPDC)
The Health Product Declaration Collaborative has been instrumental in driving harmonization and digitization across material health reporting for over a decade. HPDC’s HPD Open Standard, Builder, and Repository are prioritized within the CMF v1.0. HPDC will be launching a CMF Data Module in the HPD builder by early 2026. This module will help advance the thousands of manufacturers who already have an HPD, and those that are seeking data management solutions to leverage this tool, organize their data by the CMF, and see this data within workflow tools with HPDC's already established APIs.
Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute
mindful MATERIALS and Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute are collaborating to connect verified sustainability data into shared digital systems—making certification outcomes easier to access, compare, and apply in design and procurement. As a foundational certification within the Common Materials Framework (CMF), the Cradle to Cradle Certified® Product Standard aligns directly with the CMF’s five impact areas: material health, product circularity, clean air and climate protection, water and soil stewardship, and social fairness. Together, these efforts strengthen a common language for healthier, more sustainable materials and help the industry move toward connected, verifiable impact.
PEER Community
Emerging from the Holcim Foundation, ECHO, and Columbia University, the PEER network—through Gotham Foundry—is pioneering the integration of impact data with financial modeling. Together, PEER and mindful MATERIALS are advancing digitized, holistic impact reporting that connects building performance with investment strategies, helping make financial and sustainability goals one and the same.
Urban Land Institute (ULI)
With ULI’s deep expertise in real estate and investment, mindful MATERIALS is aligning CMF data and insights to connect sustainability metrics with owner and developer priorities. This collaboration bridges ESG goals and material choices, reinforcing that material transparency isn’t just a design decision—it’s a business advantage.
Learn more:
Parsons Healthy Materials Lab
Parsons Healthy Materials Lab (HML) is a leading voice in research and education around healthier material choices, empowering designers to prioritize human and environmental well-being. mindful MATERIALS shares this commitment, aligning HML’s educational focus on transparency, toxicity, and social impact with the Common Materials Framework (CMF)’s structure for organizing and scaling material health data. Together, these aligned efforts help bridge learning and application—advancing a collective movement toward healthier, more sustainable design.
Building Passport Alignment Project
The Building Passport Alignment Project is advancing the built environment toward streamlined ESG reporting by standardizing building-level data and enabling seamless information exchange. mindful MATERIALS recognizes this work as key to the Common Materials Framework, aligning goals of interoperability, transparency, and efficiency. Together, these efforts support a more connected, data-driven industry where verified information drives smarter, more sustainable decisions.
Implementation Toolkits
