Ok, not really. I’m not nearly researched enough to do that with confidence, but I do want to talk about something that came up during the State of the Union last night, which would affect interior design and related industries.

So I don’t know about you, but I rarely find State of the Unions… intriguing. I watch them when I can to understand what has happened, what is happening, and what the government is trying to make happen in the future. During the speech, I had one moment of “oh, really?!” that made me sit up a little taller. It was when President Biden discussed his plans to start industry supply chains in the US, having construction materials manufactured in the US, and the desire to have the US government source from materials that are made in the US. I was, in fact, intrigued by this prospect.

I recognize that this is a multi-layered proposal, however I’m interested in the potential positive impacts these policies could have on sustainability, both nationally and internationally. They could greatly reduce greenhouse emissions through eliminated travel lanes, not to mention the fact that certain material standards could be properly monitored and maintained. There’s also a potential opportunity to reduce waste of these materials through updated packaging needs and access recycling. And since construction materials are one of, if not the, top contributors to waste in the country, this could be a big deal.

Only time will tell if this is something that can be passed, maintained and refined for the benefit of the environment, but I can fully appreciate this move, and the impact it would have on sustainability in built environment industries. How do you feel about sustainability and materials’ impact on the environment?