The Big Picture
It’s easy to get caught up in the details—earning one more LEED point or getting that documentation you need for recycled content.
But it’s a lot easier to achieve all the project goals if the owner and the whole project team are in agreement about why you’re putting in all this work in the first place. Stuff like:
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slowing down climate change
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dealing with global water shortages
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avoiding depletion of nonrenewable resources
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preventing public health problems associated with manufacturing
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righting social wrongs
Here we set the scene, providing context that can help get—and keep—everyone on the same page about project goals.
The Big Picture
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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How Boston Reduced Its Carbon Footprint
Feature Short
Building operations represent 75% of Boston’s greenhouse gas emissions. Here’s what we can learn from the city’s work on ambitious climate goals.
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2030 Culture: Six Selfish Reasons to Commit
Feature Short
2030 Commitment signatories are making progress on climate goals. Along the way, they’re also finding new ways to save time and money.
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Progress on 2030 Goals, Ten Years Later
Feature Short
The number of firms committing to 2030 carbon targets has more than doubled, and 8,182 project teams reported in 2014. But what about the carbon?
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Six Ways Existing Buildings Can Save the Planet
Feature Short
Renovations, retrofits, and better-informed O&M will determine how quickly the developed world slows its carbon emissions.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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The Living Building Challenge Loves Me... It Loves Me Not
Infographic
Each Living Building Challenge (LBC) petal can elevate teams to new heights—or at times be the cause of unrequited love.
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The 8 Shades of Greenwash: How Many Do You Recognize?
Infographic
Most building products these days have an environmental angle to their sales pitches. Many are legit, but as ever, you still have to watch for the telltale signs of greenwash—the practice of inventing or exaggerating the environmental benefits of a product.
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30 Years of Green Building in the U.S.
Infographic
As The BuildingGreen Report (formerly Environmental Building News, or “EBN”) celebrates its 30th year of publication, we decided to track the growth—and explosion—of the green building movement. We start in 1990 with the founding of AIA’s Committee on the Environment.
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Good Ozone, Bad Ozone
Explainer
The same ozone that causes air quality problems near Earth's surface protects the Earth from ultraviolet radiation high in the atmosphere. This protective ozone layer is thinning due to manufactured chemicals.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Hands-Free Parking
Product Review
The AutoMotion Parking System creates an automated parking garage, offering advantages including indoor environmental quality benefits.
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Lime Stucco from American Clay Enterprises
Product Review
American Clay Enterprises, known for its popular natural earth plaster, has introduced a setting lime stucco to the national market.
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Bella-Dura Contract Fabric Touts Its Green Credentials
Product Review
Bella-Dura indoor/outdoor fabric offers contract-quality performance in a competitively priced product. The company claims that Bella-Dura solution-dyed polypropylene fibers are colorfast and require less energy and water to produce than nylon or polyester.
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iCrete Mixes Stronger Concrete With Less Cement
Product Review
iCrete is an approach to concrete mix design that uses a proprietary algorithm, informed by detailed analysis of available aggregates, to optimize particle packing and use only as much cement as necessary.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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New Orleans Principles Published
News Analysis
BuildingGreen and the U.S. Green Building Council have published The New Orleans Principles, a collection of ten key principles to guide the planning and reconstruction of the city.
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AIA Targets 50% Energy Reduction in Buildings
News Analysis
The American Institute of Architects board of directors has set a goal of halving the amount of fossil fuels needed to construct and operate buildings by 2010-and achieving a 70% reduction by 2015!
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Tarkett Acquires Johnsonite
News Analysis
Tarkett, the world's largest manufacturer of resilient flooring has acquired Johnsonite, a producer of specialty flooring and flooring accessories.
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U.S. Plastic Lumber Becomes Trimax Building Products
News Analysis
American Pacific Financial Corp. has purchased U.S. Plastic Lumber and renamed it Trimax Building Products.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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From the Editors
Op-Ed
BuildingGreen welcomes Drew George to our Advisory Board, takes over hosting of the Big Green e-mail listserv, and announces that
EBN is now printed on FSC-certified paper. -
BuildingGreen to Assist McGraw-Hill with New Magazine
Op-Ed
BuildingGreen is pleased to announce an agreement with McGraw-Hill Construction through which we will provide editorial guidance and articles for an upcoming magazine called GreenSource.
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Tristan Roberts Joins Editorial Team
Op-Ed
BuildingGreen expands the editorial staff at EBN with a new associate editor.
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Reflections from Five Years on the USGBC Board
Op-Ed
EBN Executive Editor Alex Wilson reflects on five years of organizational growth he witnessed while on the board of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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The Urgency of Embodied Carbon and What You Can Do about It
Feature Article
Building materials emit massive amounts of carbon long before the lights go on. Here’s how thoughtful design can reduce global warming impact.
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The Urgency of Embodied Carbon and What You Can Do About It
Spotlight Report
Building materials emit massive amounts of carbon long before the lights go on. Here’s how thoughtful design can reduce global warming impact.
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Re-forming the Building Industry: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Feature Article
People from marginalized communities are shockingly underrepresented in the U.S. building industry. It’s past time to change that.
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Re-forming the Building Industry: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Spotlight Report
People from marginalized communities are shockingly underrepresented in the U.S. building industry. It’s past time to change that.
Just For Fun
Something weird happens every April at BuildingGreen...
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Leaked IPCC Draft Struggles with Messaging
April Fools
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released part two of its Sixth Assessment Report in February—but it left out some strong feelings.
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Americans React to Latest IPCC Report
April Fools
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report outlines some of the significant impacts of current and future carbon outputs. What do Americans think?
