BuildingGreen Report

News Brief

Clean energy projects sparked job growth in 2023, growing the sector to nearly 3.5 million workers.

October 7, 2024

Clean energy jobs spiked in 2023, which according to the Clean Jobs America report from the nonpartisan business group E2, is partly attributable to the first full year of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In 2023, alone, the clean energy economy grew by almost 150,000 jobs, a pace nearly two times faster than overall national job growth.... Read more

News Brief

Through unprecedented collaboration, building industry NGOs publish two reports to drive widespread project-level embodied carbon reporting at the project level.

October 7, 2024

Over the last few years, many different organizations have developed programs and processes to address embodied carbon of entire projects: buildings, site work, and infrastructure. But embodied carbon champions became concerned that divergent methods and assumptions would slow the adoption of project LCAs, as owners might hesitate to invest in... Read more

Product Review

The Ereasy system transforms hempcrete from a labor-intensive niche product into one that can be used in a number of applications.

September 23, 2024

Industrial hemp has amazing potential as a building material. It grows quickly on small plots. It is drought resistant. It can grow in poor soils, regenerating them by fixing nitrogen. And it has the potential to store a lot of carbon.

In the past, hemp was one of the world’s biggest crops, grown primarily for its fibers, which were... Read more

Webcast

September 17, 2024

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... Read more

News Brief

EPA shares its plan for a low-embodied carbon labeling program, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.

September 17, 2024

Federally funded projects are responsible for as much as a third of all U.S. construction emissions, estimates the General Services Administration (GSA) Green Building Advisory Committee.

As one piece of a comprehensive strategy to reduce this impact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is creating a labeling program to drive... Read more

Product Guide

September 11, 2024

First and foremost, it is best to use native landscaping or xeriscaping that is drought-resistant and reduces or eliminates water, energy, and chemical use.

When irrigation is required, preference should be given to products labeled by EPA’s WaterSense program. WaterSense-labeled products undergo rigorous testing to ensure they are at... Read more

Spotlight Report

August 19, 2024

Our buildings used to be made from local, natural materials. With no petrochemicals, these natural materials had minimal carbon footprint and were healthier for people and the environment. The climate and environment are now in crisis, brought on partially by the building materials that have ushered in our era of skyscrapers and... Read more

Product Guide

August 13, 2024

Batt insulation is inexpensive and readily available. Most brands contain formaldehyde-free resins, so they provide decent insulation with minimal indoor air quality concerns.

Batt insulation R-values vary between 3.5 for typical mineral batt insulations to about 4 for high-density products.

Cautions Batt insulation requires... Read more

Feature Article

There is a lot of hype over carbon storage and other benefits of natural materials, but their potential is real. Here are some that are ready for prime time—and the ones we hope will take off next.

August 7, 2024

Before petrochemicals, our buildings were made primarily from local, natural materials, making the most of the resources at hand. We had a circular economy—using and reusing high-value goods until they fell apart completely and became valuable fertilizer for future high-value goods—by necessity. The embodied carbon of these natural materials... Read more

Product Review

Shaw claims its EcoWorx Resilient flooring performs better than vinyl and that the material can—and will—be recycled.

August 5, 2024

There are few commercial-grade drop-in alternatives to luxury vinyl tile (LVT)—a state of affairs that flooring manufacturer Shaw Industries is hoping to change. Shaw has introduced a new PVC-free, polyolefin-based flooring collection called EcoWorx Resilient. The company claims the collection, whose name leverages the well-known brand of its... Read more

Explainer

“Circularity” is about more than just recycling. It means building and buying things only when necessary—and without wasting anything.

July 30, 2024

Ever since the invention of plastics, the global economy has become more and more linear, meaning that building products, and even whole buildings, follow a one-way trajectory: resource extraction, then use, then disposal.

This model boosts short-term profits, but it relies on fast and cheap manufacturing to do so, which can directly... Read more

Explainer

Here are the terms and metrics you’ll need to know as you cut greenhouse gas emissions from building materials and operations.

July 29, 2024

The stakes are high, the mission clear: we must eliminate the carbon emissions associated with our buildings. Taking these three steps will get us most of the way there:

First, improve the energy performance of buildings to reduce the fuel and electricity required to operate them. Next, electrify buildings and optimize their energy... Read more

Explainer

Designing a building or reporting on performance for the AIA 2030 Commitment? The building industry has standard—and sometimes confusing—ways of measuring energy. Here are the key terms you’ll need to get the job done.

July 15, 2024

Building performance metrics used to be the exclusive purview of engineers and energy modelers. But as the need to decarbonize our built environment gets increasingly urgent, project teams must collaborate across disciplines to take the biggest step forward in that work—using less energy.

Here are a few of the energy metrics you’ll need... Read more

Op-Ed

Technology that separates us from our surroundings can have far-reaching consequences for our fellow humans.

July 10, 2024

In my early adult years, noise-canceling headphones were a luxury I didn’t feel I could afford. Then the price came down, the quality went up, I had a bit more disposable income … and I splurged. I love how they help me feel more relaxed when I’m on an airplane or a subway—but that pleasure comes with a distinct awareness of my... Read more

News Brief

A new white paper will help building teams interpret their continuous air monitor data—and take action

July 1, 2024

Collecting data on indoor air quality (IAQ) is the first step toward ensuring it’s safe and healthy. The second step is to do something with it.

“So, You Have Some IAQ Monitors. Now What?” is a free white paper by the Air Quality Working Group, a subset of the BuildingGreen Peer Networks, that delves into how practitioners can interpret... Read more

Webcast

June 26, 2024

Should housing be affordable? Or should it be sustainably designed, built, and operated?

When you put it like that, the question sounds absurd.

But the idea—usually unspoken—that sustainability wastes precious time and resources is painfully common in the affordable housing world. 

It’s time to bust that myth. In this... Read more

Spotlight Report

June 21, 2024

Experts agree: it is possible to build both sustainably and affordably.

But to do so, we must shift our business-as-usual approach by applying systems thinking and centering equity in sustainable design. After all, a building is only “green” if its entire supply chain is too. 

So what does this... Read more

Feature Article

Sustainability doesn’t have to cost more—and no one knows that better than affordable housing experts. But every project type can benefit from these 12 cost-reducing ideas that support people and the planet.

June 11, 2024

This is Part Two of a two-part series related to affordable housing. It supports project teams across disciplines and building typologies with 12 specific ideas for building green on a budget. Part One emphasizes the critical importance of sustainability in affordable housing and details six steps building professionals can take to help that... Read more

Product Guide

May 15, 2024
Air-to-air heat pumps are more than three times as efficient as electric baseboard heaters, and many are now engineered for better cold-climate performance

Air-to-air heat pumps transfer heat energy from the air into and out of a building. These systems have an outdoor unit with a compressor and condenser, and either indoor units or a central... Read more

Spotlight Report

May 13, 2024

As we work to provide affordable shelter to tens of millions of households in the U.S., we have a choice: we can reinforce the exploitive systems that created our housing crisis, or we can support health, life, and resilience.

But the perceived first cost of sustainable and regenerative design solutions is one of the... Read more