What We Took Away from a Week of Showing Up

Ten insights from Living Future and the Regenerative Materials NOW! Summit that are shaping what’s next.

From the Regenerative Materials NOW! Summit to the Living Future 2025 Conference, the Parallel team spent last week in Portland, Oregon—listening, learning, leading, and most importantly, showing up. We hosted, co-hosted, connected, and reflected. And what we came away with was clear: we’re not just talking about the future of materials—we’re building it. 

Here are our top takeaways from a week where alignment, transparency, and regenerative action took center stage: 

1. Hope is alive—and growing.

As Jen Levisen, Content Strategist at Parallel, shared after the Regenerative Materials NOW! Summit, there’s something powerful about a room full of experts not competing for airtime but working together with shared purpose. From manufacturers to advocates to certifiers, the mood was one of curiosity, commitment, and collective action. 

2. The Common Materials Framework is gaining real traction. 

It’s no longer just a tool—it’s becoming part of our industry’s shared language. Seeing the Common Materials Framework (CMF) woven into rating systems, conversations, and strategic plans validates the alignment so many of us have been pushing toward.

3. Third-party verified claims matter more than ever. 

As regulatory and rating system updates continue to shift (hello, LEED v5!), the value of verified data is increasing. We heard loud and clear: transparency is the foundation, but trust is what moves the market.

4. The power of place is changing how we think about materials. 

Laurel Chądyzński, Director at Parallel, noted that many sessions raised deeper questions: Not just “where did this product come from,” but “what is the biome of that place?? Who stewards that land?” Remembering our interconnectedness and our relationships with the human (and more-than-human) world can become a regular part of our design process when we consider the places our materials come from. It’s not just about sourcing anymore—it’s about relationship, responsibility, and reciprocity.

5. ROI needs a reframe.

Multiple speakers offered a new lens on Return on Investment: Risk. Opportunity. Impact. It’s not about short-term gain—it’s about long-term resilience, systems thinking, and transformative action.

As Luke Dias, Senior Project Manager, at Parallel, put it, it’s time to rethink ROI—not as Return on Investment, but as Risk, Opportunity, and Impact. It’s a call to look beyond profit and consider the bigger picture of resilience, equity, and long-term value.

6. The momentum behind circularity is real—but the challenges are too.

Manufacturer takeback programs, material reuse, and regional solutions were hot topics. Laurel and Luke highlighted the need for stronger infrastructure, shared language, and local collaboration to make this vision real.

7. Manufacturers are still showing up—and that matters. 

Despite years of shifting demands, manufacturers continue to engage. That presence is a powerful reminder: if we keep showing up for one another, we can stay the course and shape what comes next.

8. Quiet advocacy is changing the game. 

From side conversations to summit keynotes, the push for transparency, better data, and healthier materials isn’t always loud—but it’s constant. That steady pressure is what drives industry-wide change. 

9. We’re surrounded by brilliance—let’s keep learning from it.

As Living Future’s Mike Johnson put it, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” Events like these remind us that real progress happens when we stay humble, open, and committed to collective growth.

10. We’re not just imagining a regenerative future—we’re building it.

Whether it's through the CMF, new product strategies, or expanded verification pathways, the shift is happening. The question is no longer if, but how we each play our part.

Luke Dias

Sr. Project Manager

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Laurel Chądyzński

Director

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Jen Levisen

Content Strategist

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