In the Passive House session at the Winter Summit, I spoke about a Massachusetts DOER report that found that meeting the new energy code in MA (passive house or better in most cases) is cheaper for some building types than traditional construction. Some of you asked to see the report. It was a power point show. On page 34 of this slide deck... Read more

Does anyone know if GreenTag is a legitimate Product Certification?

http://www.globalgreentag.com/

thanks

len

Hi All, we have about 40 people in our network of Sustainable Construction Leaders.  These positions are not as numerous as they should be, and companies often have a difficult time applying a monetary value to what we bring to the table. 

Participating in the salary survey can provide insights that help us all interpret our relative... Read more

We have all these resources out here in the ether but it’s so hard to pull them into one spot! I was asked, last minute to join a client call today to help convince both the client (affordable housing developer) and the mechanical engineers to "stick with" a commitment to 100% electric design that was publicly stated when the competition was... Read more

Hi, I've been following the copper piping discussion and am wondering if copper piping has been a problem in greywater systems.    We've used Aquatherm to some extent in greywater treatment.

We talked about products in Eastern region and Western region groups. 

Guiding questions:

Better Product Choices On Every Project: How To Get There?

How do firms organize and communicate information on materials? Is it office wide or on select projects?

What do designers and project managers need to know? How... Read more

The NYC SDL Group met to discuss the recent SDL Summit Report. The North Star tenant "About the well being of all species" spurred discussion of an example of building's impact on other species: bird collisions. Links to some resources to address this issue are below. Feel free to ask me and/or Stefan Knust about it. We would be more than happy... Read more

Hi all, hope you're keeping safe and healthy. I'm thinking about protocols to put in place on jobsites related to COVID-19 in addition to our IAQ plans. Wondering if anyone's company has started to layout specific protocols, PPE, etc. and is willing to share.

What got me thinking was this article from Prof. Joe Allen at Harvard about... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Video: Energy Reporting in LEED with MPR6.

Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:


1. Define the role of MPRs in achieving LEED certification
2. Describe MPR6 and the pathways for achievement
3. Answer MPR6 Frequently Asked Questions... Read more

Posting at the request of Sara Bayer of Magnusson Architecture and Planning, who will soon join this group:

"In our quest to achieve Passive House EUI levels in all of our multifamily projects in a healthy manner, we are encountering pushback on the one item that is not really code min just yet (in NYC) and adds real cost:  ERV’s.  Our... Read more

Does anyone have a "healthy material" exterior bleacher benchtop (beyond natural wood or metal) recommendation for a public high school track and field? 

How do we discern between fiberglass, recycled plastic or HPDE?  Is there a rule of thumb on how to advocate for specifying a "not as bad" material? 

The project is in a coastal... Read more

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Our high performance consulting team is frustrated by project teams that regularly fall back on outdated rules of thumb in their system and equipment sizing. 

What challenges do you face in your work flow to limit oversizing and promote right-sizing?

By the way, Roger Chang, our literature search on the subject turned up an eleven... Read more

CEUs are available for reading all the building-envelope product guides and primer. Click here to learn more and take the quiz.

Conventional excavation practices can harm ecosystems, while improper foundation and slab drainage can allow water to build up and compromise the structure and integrity of the building.

BuildingGreen-... Read more

Wondering if anyone has a contact for good [sustainable] interactive water feature designer? A client is looking for a designer to add to our team and I figured this network would certainly have some insights. Project will be located in Omaha, NE.