Following up on one of our conversations on the vision vacuum and sustainability beyond certifications, I would like to help facilitate an offline conversation with anyone working within their firm to use the AIA COTE measures as a guiding framework in their firms/projects. Attached are my slides on my first pass at thinking about this at Page... Read more

Have any of you relied on Green Badger for LEED documentation on projects?

I am familiar with the tool and know Tommy from my time in Atlanta, but have not used it on a construction project.

Have you found value? Thoughts?

Either way, they publish a pretty nifty "LEED v4 Construction Tool Kit" that may be useful for your... Read more

Does anyone up here do or have familiarity with anyone who regularly does NEPA EIS? If you need a definition for the acronym, please see here: https://www.epa.gov/nepa/national-environmental-policy-act-review-process#EIS. I've been asked if I know anything about it, to which the answer is no, but I'd like to get smarter about it and I'm hoping... Read more

Hi everyone,

As part of our monthly SDLS call yesterday, we looked through the 2020 SD Leaders Winter Summit Report. To help paint an even fuller picture of what was covered at that summit, here are slides from many of the 5-minute presentations.

As a note: we have permission from these presenters to share their slides within the... Read more

Who all is implement 360-degree reviews as part of their employee review process?  Lake|Flato is thinking of implementing this and would like to talk to a few other firms who have experience they would be willing to share.  Please contact me if you'd be up for a short email discussion or phone call to discuss.  hholdridge@lakeflato.com

... Read more

Hi All, 

The rural concrete supplier that is used for most of our projects sources their fly ash from a nearby coal burning plant that is scheduled to be closed in the next two years. In anticipation of this, they are looking into alternative fly ash sources and SCM options and we'd like to provide suggestions.

Does anyone have... Read more

Hello, All!  I'm hoping for your help to keep a green roof on a project of ours.  We have a large healthcare project in the Midwest that is coming in over budget.  To avoid losing our extensive green roof, I'm looking for alternate sources of funding - grants, private sources, etc.  Has anyone gone down this path before and have shareable... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Biobased Materials: Not Always Greener.

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


1. Explain why "biobased" is too general a term.
2. List the primary concerns associated with biobased building materials, finishes and furnishings, and wet-... Read more

Hi all, 

I'm excited to announce that LHB (my 250-person multidisciplinary firm located in Minnesota and Wisconsin) is hiring a full-time Regenerative Design Leader. I thought this might be helpful for those of you looking for example job descriptions for your own postings, or if you are looking to make a move (we do have an office in... Read more

Hi all,

We have been noodling on how to preference socially just building products and are feeling a little overwhelmed by the number of questions that we would need to ask our suppliers. Essentially we find ourselves wishing that there was a fair trade label for building products very similar to the one for global agriculture. Or, maybe... Read more

Hey Everyone!

My firm in collaboration with our architect partner organize the REBUILD conference in Cincinnati on October 5th, so I wanted to make a post for those interested to sign up.

At the 2022 REBUILD Conference, we want to Be Positive + and bring sustainability leaders together to celebrate advancement, advocate for... Read more

Successfully managing the LEED documentation process requires specific knowledge, tools, and skills that are not covered in the LEED Reference Manual. This CEU course is based on the LEED Project Management course that GreenStep developed and teaches through UC–Berkeley Extension. It is designed for professionals who are somewhat familiar with... Read more

Hello all,

Does anyone know of any Rebate Program for either induction cooking equipment or kitchen electrification (new or existing)? Looking for any local or state or even federal programs (outside of California) that incentivize designing/building/retrofitting towards an all electric kitchen for any program type (institutional, single... Read more

Hi all!

I've heard several people talk about developing tools for assessing/codifying a client's values for a project as part of an integrated design process (ie. a set of questions, survey, etc.). Would anyone be willing to share?

(Z, are you listening? I specifically recall you mentioning a tool like this...)

Thanks!... Read more

Has anyone worked on a project installing a PowerNest system?  I just found out about it today and would love to get working information on it.  

Here's the link, in case its new to you as well. https://www.ibispower.eu/home

Thank you -