Have you ever wondered about what kind of energy goes into making the common things that you use everyday? I’d be willing to bet that you might change some of the things that you purchase if you knew how bad that some of them are for the environment.

Wouldn’t it be empowering if products had to display something similar to a “nutritional information label” that instead detailed the environmental impact of the product? Enter a new type of product label: “Environmental Product Declarations” or EPD’s. Right now, they are a voluntary way for companies to let you know that they care about the impact of their products, but let’s start demanding them. The rules of the game would change dramatically if they were required.

Architecture 2030 has come up with a challenge for products to reduce their impact; help support their efforts by paying attention to the impact of products and letting it influence your decisions.