BuildingGreen Report
Product Guide
Everyone wants to save water, but low-flow shower units have been faulted for delivering poor performance—leading people to spend more time in the shower or to remove the showerhead and replace it with an older, higher-flow showerhead.... Read more
Feature Article
Many people hope mass timber will drive decarbonization—but scaling that up could make things worse. Instead of embodied carbon alone, “climate-smart” practices focus on our increasingly fragile forests.
This is Part Two of a two-part series on wood products. Part One focuses on the embodied carbon of wood products, exploring the origin and veracity of industry carbon-neutrality claims and considering the avoided emissions associated with using mass timber in place of structural steel or concrete. Part Two considers broader climate implications... Read more
Product Guide
Stone, wood, composites, sintered stone, tile, and other solid surface materials all have different environmental and health impacts. Plastic products engineered so scratches can be sanded out... Read more
Explainer
Life-cycle assessment and environmental product declarations reveal embodied carbon and other impacts, but it’s important to know their limits.
As part of its economy-wide decarbonization plan, the U.S. government is targeting a building-sector emission cut of 90% from 2005 levels by 2050—and a crucial component of that is reducing the embodied greenhouse gas emissions from building materials and construction.
To achieve this, we need better... Read more
Product Guide
Made from portland cement, aggregates, and water, concrete is one of the most useful and ubiquitous materials on the planet. The portland cement that holds concrete together is responsible for approximately 8% of anthropogenic carbon. That’s because production involves a process (calcination) that transforms limestone into portland cement and... Read more
Webcast
You’ve probably heard that wood products are carbon neutral. You might also have heard that timber harvesting causes immense carbon emissions.
Which is it?
Could it be both?
This on-demand webcast investigates these questions and others, using a scientific lens to examine wood’s carbon... Read more
Feature Article
Wood products are widely regarded as carbon neutral—or even better. With new research challenging that idea, a more cautious approach is emerging. Because the climate stakes are too high for us to get this wrong.
Editor’s note: Stephanie Carlisle, senior researcher at the University of Washington’s Carbon Leadership Forum, generously provided a technical review.
This is Part One of a two-part series on wood products. It delves into the climate impacts—positive, negative, and otherwise—of managed forests. Part Two considers more climate... Read more
Spotlight Report
Is wood carbon neutral? Can mass timber buildings be net-negative emitters?
You have probably heard both of those claims repeated by manufacturers, colleagues, and the media—but the World Resources Institute isn’t so sure. A WRI report released in July 2023 maintains that wood use is not carbon neutral “even if... Read more
Op-Ed
The politics and protests are crucial, but behind the scenes, it’s all about good-faith collaboration, community, and commitments.
Disclosure: This guest op-ed comes from Lisa Richmond, Hon. AIA, who is a senior fellow with Architecture 2030. BuildingGreen, alongside SERA Architects, recently consulted with Architecture 2030 and several other green building organizations to facilitate consensus and develop reporting guidelines for the Embodied Carbon... Read more
Feature Article
Science-based targets for the building sector no longer apply to design firms and most construction companies, but AEC must continue leading the industry toward net zero, experts say.
It’s 2024. Global emissions—and temperatures—are rising instead of falling, and some scientists believe this will be the year we cross a dangerous climate threshold, the 1.5°C Paris Agreement goal, long before we (hopefully) achieve net-zero emissions in 2050.
Meanwhile, new guidance being piloted through the Science Based Targets... Read more
Webcast
Join Brent Ehrlich, BuildingGreen’s products & materials specialist, as he unveils ten innovative technologies he believes are solving the building industry’s biggest challenges.
For 2024, we’ve showcased products that nix toxic chemicals, advance efficient electrification, cut embodied carbon, promote... Read more
Product Review
BuildingGreen’s Top 10 industry-transforming products this year include innovative heat-pump energy storage, electric construction equipment, PFAS-free textiles, healthier lighting, PV circularity, and more.
Want to learn about past winners? See our Top 10 Green Building Products page.
BuildingGreen is starting the new year by celebrating the positive transformations happening in the building industry—with our annual Top 10 Green Building Products. We have been awarding the Top 10 for more than 20 years, leveraging our deep knowledge of... Read more
Blog Post
Through big transitions, BuildingGreen stays true to its mission.
The seeds of what is now BuildingGreen were planted nearly four decades ago, when Alex Wilson started the company in his home in Dummerston, Vermont. Alex and his wife, Jerelyn Wilson, created this company and have nurtured it ever since.
Both Alex and Jerelyn are retiring from BuildingGreen at the end of... Read more
Product Review
In part two of our Greenbuild expo product roundup, I’m covering CO2 heat pumps, a ground-source system heat pump system, agricultural fiber panels, construction equipment wash systems, and more.
This is Part Two in a two-part series. Part One covers IAQ equipment and low-carbon concrete.
In the first part of our Greenbuild 2023 product coverage, we looked at low-carbon concrete and IAQ monitors—showcasing innovative solutions to some of our most pressing building concerns. This second installment covers several cool categories... Read more
News Analysis
Beginning in 2025, electricity-producing facilities will need to achieve zero emissions to claim the Investment Tax Credit, making the eligibility of several currently funded technologies uncertain.
This article has been prepared for informational purposes only; it is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your firm’s tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
Just as project teams have started to get a handle on the huge... Read more
News Analysis
With a new program, the International WELL Building Institute aims to help users more easily find high-performance building products and systems.
Product and material selection is one of the most time-consuming parts of achieving a green and healthy building certification like LEED, WELL, or (perhaps most famously) the Living Building Challenge. Project teams must sort through hundreds of products to find safer cleaning solutions, low-VOC furniture, or air purifiers that meet performance... Read more
Webcast
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) offers us a once-in-a-generation chance to equitably decarbonize the built environment and prepare communities to weather future climate threats.
... Read moreNews Brief
In an open letter, public health leaders implore officials to design building policies for occupant health.
“The imperative for health-driven building policy has never been more pressing. Buildings must be fortified for health.”
This statement is part of an open letter addressed to elected officials and policymakers, and signed by six former U.S. Surgeons General, six CEOs, five executive directors of leading public health organizations, and... Read more
News Analysis
Lofty net-zero commitments and fledgling ESG programs typically lack realistic implementation plans. USGBC wants to fill the gap—but not with LEED.
The organization that created LEED is now advancing a whole new certification concept—one that doesn’t start with an L for leadership.
Also, only existing building portfolios need apply. And the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Portfolio Accelerator, which is still under development but is due out in 2024, will have no points and no... Read more
Product Review
The Greenbuild expo floor had quite a few new products, an exciting change post-pandemic. In fact, there were too many for one article. In part one we’re covering IAQ and low-carbon concrete. Stay tuned for part two!
This is Part One in a two-part series. Part Two covers heating and cooling, interiors, structural systems, and a construction jobsite product.
With COVID-19 in the rearview mirror (mostly), Greenbuild seemed like it was on the rebound as well. The sessions I attended were lively and topical, and the... Read more
