Why We Created the Material Health Navigator™

A Values-Driven Approach to Safer, Smarter Material Choices

At Healthy Home Expert, the belief is clear: building materials shouldn’t just meet minimum code - they should actively promote human health, uphold environmental stewardship, and maintain design integrity. That’s why Annie created the Material Health Navigator™ - a science-based, ethically developed framework for selecting healthier, safer, and more transparent materials.

When you train with Healthy Home Expert, you’re not just gaining technical knowledge - you’re stepping into a movement rooted in ethics, scientific rigour, and real industry leadership.

The Material Health Navigator™ is not software. It’s not an app with an ongoing subscription. It’s not a recycled checklist or a rebranded rating tool wrapped in marketing spin. There are no paywalls, no proprietary scoring systems, and no unnecessary complexity.

Instead, it’s the result of years of independent research, hands-on fieldwork, and international collaboration with leading voices in material health and transparency.

Included as a core component of the Certified Healthy Building Professional program, this framework gives students direct access to a clear, science-backed methodology and a set of practical tools that allow them to cut through greenwashing, evaluate materials with confidence, and lead with clarity, evidence, and integrity.

Designed for real-world implementation, the Material Health Navigator™ equips professionals with the skills and structure needed to make informed, health-conscious decisions - without relying on closed databases or systems that obscure more than they reveal.

Because in an industry often clouded by slogans and spin, true leadership begins with understanding what’s in the materials - and what that means for the people and places we build for

Built from the Ground Up - With Integrity

The building industry is awash with well-intentioned guides and rating systems-but many are built on proprietary frameworks that were never intended for professional specification or education. Instead of offering clarity, they often add confusion-layering marketing spin over data that’s already publicly available.

The Material Health Navigator™ was developed to meet a higher standard.

It’s not another app. It doesn’t require a subscription, database, or software platform. Because the truth is: the data is already out there. What professionals need isn’t more tools-they need a methodology to make sense of it.

That’s exactly what this framework delivers.

  • Grounded in global systems like HPD and Declare-not arbitrary or subjective ratings

  • Informed by formal training in Australia (ACES), the USA (BBI), and Germany (IBN)

  • Built for real-world use, with transparency at its core to cut through greenwashing

  • Ethically developed from the ground up-without copying or adapting proprietary IP

The Material Health Navigator™ empowers professionals to make clear, confident material decisions-based on science, not branding.

What Sets It Apart

In an industry increasingly shaped by accountability, consumers, and regulators alike are demanding clarity, proof, and ethics. Professionals need tools they can trust - not just to comply, but to lead.

The Material Health Navigator™ is:

  • Implementation-ready: Designed for real-world project decisions

  • Scientifically robust: Uses hazard-based data and disclosure-backed criteria

  • Legally sound: Built without borrowing from copyrighted frameworks

  • Professionally aligned: Backed by Annie’s active membership and contribution to the HPDC Hazards Technical Sub-Group

  • Aligned with the 25 Building Biology Principles, ensuring a truly holistic approach to health, ecology, and building performance

Instead of relying on branded shortcuts or generic checklists, this framework empowers professionals to specify with confidence-guided by science, ethics, and international best practice.

A Tool with a Mission

This framework is part of a broader vision - The Transparency Movement™, which Annie founded to drive:

  • Ingredient-level disclosure across the construction industry

  • Fairer access to healthy design knowledge for women in construction and design

  • Global alignment with systems that protect people and the planet

For Our Students & Partners

  • When you learn with Healthy Home Expert, you’re not just gaining technical skills-you’re joining a movement driven by ethics, evidence, and industry leadership.

  • You’ll walk away with more than knowledge and you’ll gain a framework for action. The Material Health Navigator™ empowers you to make confident, science-backed material decisions that go beyond compliance.

  • Because in a world full of marketing spin and greenwashed claims, real leadership means knowing how to cut through the noise-and stand for what’s true.

The Material Health Navigator™ goes beyond ingredient lists and hazard scores. It applies real-world health science, grounded in the internationally recognised SBM-2015 Building Biology Standard. This ensures every material aligns not just with disclosure - but with thresholds proven to support long-term health in the built environment.

“A trusted guide for selecting healthier, safer, and more transparent building materials.”

Let’s raise the standard.
Quietly. Powerfully. Together.