Hi everyone,

Happy new year!

The FIRST First Friday Fika* of 2024 is happening this Friday, January 5th from 11am to 12pm ET, hosted by Candace Pearson.

Here is the registration link for the Fikas, or if you've registered previously, you can use the same link for this week.

We look forward to seeing you Friday!

Hi all!

I'm working on my first energy positive / passive house multifamily building and trying to figure out the trash/recycling chute. I am curious what solutions you have employed to make the trash chute air tight? We have excluded the whole chute from the envelope. Do you use airtight doors (and which ones?) at each floor trash/... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

Here’s one more exclusive webinar for you! Coming up next week:

Behind the Scenes: COTE Top Ten 2021
Tuesday, May 4th, 2021
2pm - 3pm ET (11am - 12pm PT)

Register here.

Description:
Eight of this year’s Top Ten winners are from firms in this network. We also have a member on the... Read more

Hi Everyone, just as governors are regionally deciding how to reopen their economies, it's probably time we started thinking about what getting back to work looks like for us.  And, just as governors are leaning on each other for ideas and coordination, we can benefit from discussing strategies as a group.  To that end, I wanted to get your... Read more

Kelly provides administrative support to BuildingGreen projects, including major contracts as well as event planning, and logistics coordination for BuildingGreen’s network of sustainable design leaders. Among her projects, Kelly coordinated a large tri-state regional economic development project focused on the green goods and services industry... Read more

Hello SDL Leaders,

Over the past month, I have been working with ILFI to navigate the question of residuals in LBC compliant products vs. products reporting for a Declare label.

Through our conversations, it came to light that ILFI considers the LBC Red List threshold to be 10,000 ppm, rather than the 100 ppm written into the... Read more

Can you comment on successful ways you have used eQUEST and pitfalls you have seen? We are considering training our architects to use it for early building analysis on all projects. 

Happy Friday, SDL!

We're running a Tally WBLCA for an environmental education center, which has a very small floor area but a fairly robust concrete/steel structure. Still, I was surprised to find an intensity of over 1,000 kgCO2/m2 for the building.

This is way higher than the general benchmarks I've found in the CLF's database,... Read more

Huge shout out to Patty Lloyd, Luke Leung, Janet Olsen, and Sarah Gudeman for their webinar on the Power of Peer Networks. They share lots of insights into the value of participating in BG Peer Networks and many others. Ten bucks to Illinois Green gets you access to the recording--I loved it. What would you have said that they didn't?

If you haven't seen it yet, today's U.N. report "Making Peace With Nature" tackles climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution jointly within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The analysis is anchored in current economic, social and ecological reality and framed by economics and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable... Read more

Office furniture’s materials and components can come from unsustainable sources, and use adhesives that emit formaldehyde or other volatile compounds.

BuildingGreen-Approved Furniture

BuildingGreen approves tables, desks, and other office furnishings certified to BIFMA’s multi-attribute level 3 standard, which requires low... Read more

Hi all - I've heard from a few of you that you are interested in doing a book club or other internal education based on the Path to Zero Carbon. If you would like the word docs or pdfs of each of the 16 posts, let me konw and I'll send them to you.

I'd also like to know of those who are using it how it's going and what you're finding... Read more

Attached are the raw notes from the Design Process Conversations.

And here are the Guiding Questions from the Agenda Survey:

Design Process: how to intervene to get better outcomes?

How do I crack the nut of making a difference within my firm in the Design Process?

What strategies alter our fast-paced design... Read more

We are T-minus two days from the ILFI unconference and I am looking forward to seeing a bunch of you there.  I have a vague memory about there being a meet up scheduled - can somebody remind me of where/when.

Also, can folks that are speaking post a reply about when their session is and what the topic is please.

Thanks in advance... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Fundamentals of High-Performance Building Assemblies.

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


1. Recall how the acronym ENDURE speaks to the unifying aspect of high-performance buildings.
2. Describe how to apply the principles of high-... Read more