Red List Building Materials

The Living Building Challenge (LBC) Red List represents the “worst in class” materials, chemicals, and elements known to pose serious risks to human health and the greater ecosystem that are prevalent in the building products industry. The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) believes that these materials should be phased out of production due to human and/or environmental health and toxicity concerns. While there are certainly other items that could be added, this list was determined by selecting items with the greatest potential impact if they were significantly curbed or eliminated from the building industry. ILFI worked with the Healthy Building Network and the Pharos Project to develop the original Red List in 2006.

Red List classes are added or retired with each new version of the LBC Standard. The revised chemical groupings that were established as part of the LBC 4.0 release more suitably categorize Red List chemicals by function, application within the building products sector and structural similarity. The chemical classes are described below, and the chemicals included in each group are detailed in the 2022 LBC Red List CASRN Guide. While all chemicals in the 2022 LBC Red List CASRN Guide fall within the list of chemical classes outlined in the Standard, not necessarily all chemicals in an LBC Red List Class are included in the enforceable CASRN Guide. The CASRN Guide itself is typically updated on an annual basis in January, and seeks to ensure that the Red List remains a leadership tool and reflects best available science.