Session 1, Healthy Planet: Materials + the Environment kicks off the Materials Matter program with a candid overview of why materials matter for both environmental and human health. The session focuses on what impacts material substances can have on our environment and how we measure and track those impacts. It will introduce the primary methods used to assess the environmental impact of materials, including life-cycle assessment, and the tools available to help identify and prioritize healthy, sustainable materials.
Learning Objectives:
· Participants will be able to describe the context of healthy materials through understanding the role materials play in human and environmental health.
· Participants will be able to summarize the ethical and business cases for paying increased attention to materials in the built environment.
· Participants will be able describe how material substances impact the environment, what are different categories of impacts, and how we measure and track them.
· Participants will be able to identify common methods used to assess the environmental impacts of materials and describe opportunities and limitations of the methods.
· Participants will be able to explain life-cycle assessment and tools which use LCA to determine materials environmental impact.