Technical Advisory Groups

Technical Advisors

ILFI’s community of practice is vital to informing the technical development, continued industry leadership, and transparency of ILFI’s programs. ILFI’s volunteer technical advisors are critical partners who represent built environment and building industry leadership with deep technical expertise in relevant topic areas. A key role of these advisors is to weigh in on decisions pertaining to the development and implementation of ILFI’s program requirements.

ILFI has both Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) and Individual Technical Advisors (TAs). TAGs comprise a group of advisors and are run on an annual cycle. TAG members are selected from a pool of applicants who respond to a public call. Individual TAs are engaged as needs and opportunities arise. If you have any questions about our technical advisory opportunities, please reach out to tech.advisory@living-future.org.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

ILFI is seeking additional members to join our existing TAGs. Please review the 2024-2025 ILFI Technical Advisory Groups Overview and the 2024-2025 ILFI Technical Advisory Groups Scopes of Work to understand expectations, benefits, and focus areas for the 2024-2025 cycle, which runs from September 1, 2024 through August 30, 2025. The application period will close July 31, 2024.

The following TAGs are now accepting applications for new members with the indicated subject matter expertise:

Energy and Carbon (seeking new members)

The Energy and Carbon TAG advises on how ILFI programs can continue to lead building teams and owners of new, renovation, existing, and tenant improvement projects to achieve aggressive energy and carbon reduction targets and be combustion and fossil fuel-free. This group may also advise on the energy and carbon requirements related to the Living Product Challenge. We’re looking for 2 to 3 new TAG members with expertise in sustainable mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) design as well as building commissioning.

Material Health (seeking new members)

The Material Health TAG identifies and synthesizes the latest research on chemicals of concern in the built environment and the impacts that building materials have on personal, community, and ecosystem health during their production, use, and end-of-life. We’re looking for 2 to 3 new TAG members with expertise in toxicology, environmental health, or sustainable product certification.

Water (seeking new members)

The Water TAG informs, reviews, and provides guidance and feedback on the evolution of the Living Building Challenge’s Water Petal. This group may also advise on the water requirements related to the Living Product Challenge. The TAG will work to ensure that ILFI programs define the leading-edge vision of how designers and owners in the built environment can realign how water is valued, challenge insufficient current solutions, and achieve ambitious responsible and regenerative water use. We’re looking for 2 to 3 new TAG members with expertise in water chemistry and safer treatment, groundwater issues, international approaches, HVAC water use and specialty water use, and climate change perspectives related to water cycle impacts (regional, flooding, future scenarios, etc.).

Important dates

July 8, 2024 – Application period opens
July 31, 2024 – Application period closes – last day to submit applications
August 14, 2024 – Applicants notified of decision
September 2024 – TAG member orientation meeting (exact date TBD)
October 2024 – First TAG meetings of the 2024-2025 cycle (exact dates TBD)

Apply here by July 31, 2024. For further inquiries, please contact tech.advisory@living-future.org.

Individual Technical Advisors

ILFI is also accepting applications for several Individual TA opportunities. Please review the 2024-2025 ILFI Technical Advisor Overview to understand the role, expectations, and benefits. The application period will close July 31, 2024.

ILFI is seeking Individual TAs in the following areas:

Indoor Air Quality: ILFI seeks advisors with expertise in indoor air quality (IAQ) and leading IAQ standards to enhance requirements for creating healthier built environments. Particular expertise is sought in two areas: 1) designing for the prevention of environmental risks from allergens and airborne disease; and 2) balancing the effectiveness of IAQ requirements and industry standards with cost-efficiency, ensuring a meaningful balance between performance-based, high-quality indoor air solutions and feasibility for project teams. This includes in-depth knowledge of IAQ testing as well as other indoor environmental quality design aspects such as access to daylight and views, acoustic conditions, occupant control, and flexible workspaces.
Ecosystem Services/Biodiversity
- Products: ILFI seeks advisors with expertise in assessing nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities for product manufacturers. This could include measurement, modeling, and documentation of ecosystem services and biodiversity footprints of businesses, and familiarity with nature-related data tools.
- Buildings: ILFI seeks advisors with expertise in approaches to the built environment that maximize ecological health and integrity and foster increased biodiversity, including strategies that avoid fragmentation and sprawl, siting and planting design methodologies to maximize both onsite biodiversity and connectivity with the surrounding landscape, and methods for documenting performance.
Product Circularity: ILFI seeks advisors with expertise in the circular economy, as it pertains to product design and circular business models. This could include circular design, system mapping, product as a service, standardized design, design for longevity, repairability, and reuse, waste reduction, lifecycle analysis for circularity, circular supply chains, circular materials selection, etc.
Supply Chain Traceability for Products: ILFI seeks advisors with expertise in product supply chain traceability as it pertains to responsible sourcing, labor practices, and environmental impacts. This includes supplier sustainability, supplier training, supplier audits and verification, labor recruitment practices, environmental management in supply chain, carbon disclosure in supply chain, etc.
Off-site Renewables: ILFI seeks advisors with experience in off-site renewable energy generation. This could include specific expertise in system design, purchasing agreements, additionality, renewable energy investment schemes (REITs), and permitting.
Carbon Offsets: ILFI seeks advisors with experience in reliable and verifiable carbon offsets projects, including familiarity with Green-e® Climate certified offsets and the joint commitments by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) and the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI). Additional expertise in local or regional offsetting schemes that prioritize and incentivize offsetting projects that encourage local benefits and climate justice outcomes will be prioritized.
Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG): ILFI seeks advisors with expertise in ESG frameworks as they relate to individual building or portfolio-scale assets. This could include experience in various ESG standards, verification processes, data collection, reporting, ESG goal-setting, and more.

Important dates

July 8, 2024 – Application period opens
July 31, 2024 – Application period closes – last day to submit applications
Applicants will be notified of decisions on a rolling basis following the close of the application period

Apply here by July 31, 2024. For further inquiries, please contact tech.advisory@living-future.org.

Energy and Carbon

The Energy and Carbon TAG advises on how ILFI programs can continue to lead building and product teams to achieve aggressive energy and carbon reduction targets and be combustion and fossil-fuel-free.

Material Health

Organizational Equity

The Organizational Equity TAG informs, reviews, and provides feedback on the evolution of ILFI’s Just program, a social justice transparency platform for organizations to disclose progress on human resource and community stewardship practices.

Water

The Water TAG advises on how ILFI programs define the leading-edge vision and quantify the impact of what buildings can do to realign how water is valued, challenge insufficient current solutions, and achieve ambitious responsible and regenerative water use.