Mindful Materials and Partners Launch the Common Materials Framework (CMF) Implementation Toolkit at Greenbuild 2025

On November 4 at the Greenbuild conference and expo in Los Angeles, Mindful Materials and the organization's members and partners launched the Common Materials Framework Implementation Toolkit. Co-developed by mindful MATERIALS and Forum members and partners, this resource provides a path and a set of directions for implementing common agreed-upon ways to discuss, specify, and measure the impact of sustainable building materials. The CMF is at its core a common language in the form of an agreed-upon, interoparable and digitized data set.  

The Toolkit includes:

• Role-based guidance for different stakeholders (AEC/O firms, manufacturers, ecolabels/standards, tech platforms) to apply the CMF in their workflows. 
• A “Starter Guide” aggregating decades of industry legacy into a usable direction.
• Data-ecosystem tools: templates for “Common Ask” / “Common Give” (standardised product-data requests + data deliveries) to reduce duplication and improve consistency.
• Crosswalks showing how the CMF maps into major rating/certification systems (e.g., USGBC, International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), International Living Future Institute (ILFI), etc.).
• Digitization playbooks: guidance on moving from PDF/spreadsheet product-data to machine-readable, interoperable formats. 
• Advocacy Tools & Case Studies: To equip teams to lead confidently and show impact.

Billions have been invested in high-performing buildings, but without shared, connected materials data, we can’t measure and therefore also imrpove true impact. The CMF Implementation Toolkit helps teams:

• Save time and money through reduced duplication and manual data entry
• Strengthen credibility and comparability across programs and projects
• Accelerate automation and consistency through digital workflows
• Demonstrate leadership as clients and jurisdictions demand transparency

The Toolkit represents the collective effort of more than 70 organizations across design, construction, manufacturing, technology, and program partners collaborating through the mindful MATERIALS Forums. Since 2022, these leaders have defined the CMF, set cross-industry priorities, and mapped the steps to operationalize it.

 

“It’s about turning vision into action, aligning the industry around shared workflows, and making sustainable product decisions easier, faster, and more scalable.”

— Annie Bevan, President, mindful MATERIALS