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Deep Green

Designing Buildings to Heal, Not Harm

05 Jun 2025

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Buildings account for 40 percent of global carbon emissions. The construction industry generates nearly a third of all waste in our cities and built environments. The buildings we live and work in influence 11 of the 23 social determinants of health—factors that shape our well-being. And the construction sector is also the second most at risk for labor exploitation and modern-day slavery. We get a lot wrong when we make buildings, and we've spent the last three decades trying to fix that. But what if we shifted our focus—not just doing less bad, but doing more good? That’s the promise of regenerative design: the idea that buildings can help nature regenerate, not just minimize damage.In this episode of Deep Green, host Avi Rajagopal sits down with one of the pioneers of regenerative design, Jason McLennan, chief sustainability officer at Perkins&Will. McLennan is the mind behind transformative frameworks like the Living Building Challenge, the WELL Standard, and the Living Product Challenge, as well as the Declare, Just, and Net Zero certifications. His work has earned him prestigious honors including the Buckminster Fuller Prize, the ENR Award of Excellence, and an Ashoka Fellowship.If anyone can help us see the big picture of sustainability in architecture, it’s Jason McLennan. Tune in for a conversation about the future of buildings, design, and how we can create a world where architecture heals rather than harms.This season of Deep Green is produced in partnership with Mannington Commercial.ResourcesThe Living Building ChallengeThe International Living Future InstituteThe WELL Building StandardThe Living Product ChallengePerkins&Will SustainabilityDeclare Label ProgramSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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