The Big Picture

Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. License: CC BY 2.0

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:

  • slowing down climate change

  • dealing with global water shortages

  • avoiding depletion of nonrenewable resources

  • preventing public health problems associated with manufacturing

  • 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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  • Constructing Change: The Contractor’s Commitment

    Feature Article

    The Contractor’s Commitment to Sustainable Building Practices calls on construction firms to practice green building. Here’s why the whole industry needs to get behind it.

  • No More Red Lines: Undoing Our Legacy of Urban Segregation

    Feature Article

    Redlining in the U.S. has left us with unsustainable, under-resourced neighborhoods. Inclusive green design can help them heal.

  • The Next Four Years

    Feature Article

    The Biden-Harris administration may be the most important ever relative to the environment.

  • Wood: What’s Good?

    Feature Article

    Mass timber seems alluring because of its low carbon footprint, but not all wood is equally sustainable. We dig deep into the controversy over which types of timber are “climate smart.

Quick Takes

Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.

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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.

  • Carbon Offsets and How to Select Them

    Primer

    With more owners looking to reverse the embodied carbon impact of their buildings, it’s important to know how to buy legitimate offsets.

  • Social Sustainability and Architecture

    Primer

    Architects can increase social value through thoughtful design of the built environment.

  • Ethnography: A Creative Tool for Human-Centered Design

    Primer

    Social science research methods can generate innovative and sophisticated design solutions that respond to human needs and cultural values.

Product Guidance

Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.

In The News

We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.

Perspective

Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.

Learning Resources

Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.

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.