Clarifying Building Biology Frameworks

As someone trained through the full Advanced Diploma of Building Biology (ACES), the BBI New Build Consultant Certification (USA), and currently completing further study with IBN in Germany - I want to address some recent confusion around materials frameworks and the Building Biology profession.

Contrary to claims being made elsewhere:

• IBN (Germany) does not publish or teach a product scoring framework. Their approach is holistic, qualitative, and principle-based, grounded in ecology and health - not scoring tools.

• BBI (USA) also does not endorse, license, or certify third-party material rating systems. Their curriculum focuses on in-depth environmental assessment, not proprietary scorecards or product lists.

Any suggestion that a traffic-light-style scoring tool is “adapted from IBN” or shared with “permission from BBI” is misleading. I say this not to diminish other educators - but to ensure integrity, transparency, and trust in our field.

My own Material Health Navigator™ was developed independently to align with globally recognised, publicly available frameworks like:

• Health Product Declaration (HPDC),

• Declare Label,

• Cradle to Cradle,

• and the Common Materials Framework (2025).

It is fully original, based on real-world use, current science, and international best practice - not rebranded internal tools or borrowed content.

In an industry where greenwashing is rife, clarity matters. If you're a professional seeking healthy material guidance grounded i