Development of efficient workflow for integrating material analysis

One approach that has worked well for us is to integrate material evaluation into the existing material selection and submittal process rather than treating it as a separate sustainability exercise. Early in design, we identify the materials that are likely to have the greatest relevance and create a simple evaluation matrix covering potential human health, environmental, and safety impacts across key life-cycle stages: product manufacturing, installation, use, maintenance, and end of life/reuse.To keep the process efficient, we rely first on standardized manufacturer documentation such as EPDs, HPDs, Declare labels, and SDSs rather than conducting a new analysis from scratch for every product. EPDs are particularly useful for quickly identifying environmental hotspots and comparing quantitative indicators such as GWP, ODP, acidification, and eutrophication across life-cycle stages, while HPDs and SDSs help inform health and safety considerations.From a coordination standpoint, establishing the evaluation criteria during schematic design and using a shared material matrix has been particularly helpful. This allows the sustainability, design, and specification teams to flag materials with missing documentation or higher potential impacts before selections are finalized. The goal is not to perform a full LCA for every material during schematic design, but to use readily available transparency documents to identify priorities early and reserve more detailed analysis for the materials that warrant it. This makes the process more manageable and reduces the risk of having to reconsider material selections later in the project.