Can you imagine a future where projects deliver net positive results rather than simply mitigating negative impacts? The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) can! In fact, the nonprofit has set out to combat climate change by pushing for the creation of the world’s greenest buildings.
With dozens of certified projects around the globe, ILFI challenges our ideas of development, management, and sustainable living. By promoting an alternate approach, the organization hopes to create positive impacts for our greater communities and lifestyles.
Organized into different programs, ILFI has built challenges and certifications with aligning standards that allow designers to explore ways to create regenerative buildings. Irrigation systems currently fall under two of these challenges: the Living Building Challenge and Living Community Challenge.
Within these challenges, the goal of water is to create independent sites, buildings, and communities. The project site carrying capacity dictates the water use volume. In other words, only water harvested on a site can be used in project functions, such as irrigation. Furthermore, irrigation is limited to non-potable water generated from the site.
Luckily, Hunter offers a wide variety of non-potable irrigation solutions to help designers achieve these objectives. Check them out here.
ILFI also takes a deep dive into the products associated with projects. The organization assesses the product materials, potentially hazardous material content, and the distance of origin from the project location.
Through the IFLI Declare Program, manufacturers can offer transparent assessments of their products to guide a designer’s specification decision making. Although Hunter Industries has yet to submit products for Declare labeling, we’re often asked about the ILFI’s Red List of materials. These are materials that should be avoided. When used, they can make up no more than 90% of new products within a project.
Hunter products usually do not include Red List materials, except for the occasional use of brass and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) in sensor and electronic component housing.
To learn more about the relationship between Hunter products and the International Living Future Institute, visit the ILFI website or contact Bryce Carnehl.