Live Webinar

Live Webinar - Biobased Building Materials: the Hype, the Hope, the … Hemp?

THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.

Tuesday, September 17, 2:00pm Eastern (11:00am Pacific)

In simpler times, our buildings were made primarily from local, natural substances like stone, wood, straw, and clay.

But lifestyles have changed dramatically since these were the dominant materials used. Now, although many communities are still following the “old ways,” in the richest parts of the globe, ultra-processed materials make up most of the built environment.

And we all suffer: our buildings and the materials that go into them are threatening our health, our natural resources, our climate, and our very species.

Can reverting to renewable, biobased materials help? Or might scaling up their use lead to new problems?

Let us help you cut through the hype! We’ll dicuss:

  • The true carbon footprint of renewable materials

  • Why biobased materials fell out of favor

  • What it will take to bring them back 

  • How to spot greenwashing

  • What you can do to support innovation

This webinar will feature:

David Arkin
Arkin Tilt Architects

Brent Ehrlich
BuildingGreen, Inc.

Jacob Deva Racusin
New Frameworks

Katie Poss 
Building Transparency

plus moderator Paula Melton
BuidlingGreen, Inc.

Bonus: claim your GBCI & AIA|HSW credits

After you take this course, you should be able to:

  1. Assess the sustainability of biobased building materials, including their potential impacts, both positive and negative, on ecosystems and human health.

  2. Consider the environmental and performance tradeoffs—such as land-use conflicts, industrial agricultural practices, and the need for petroleum-based preservatives—that can be associated with certain biobased materials. 

  3. Appreciate the complexities of industry claims about “carbon storage” and “net-negative” embodied carbon.

  4. Understand and work to mitigate the market dynamics that deter widespread adoption of natural materials in large commercial, institutional, and residential building projects.