BuildingGreen Report

Forum topic

Hi all, it's time to schedule our next session. Who's in? Ping me at amt@vmdo.com if you want to be considered part of the working group, and fill out your availability on this Doodle poll.

If you just want to monitor what's going on, we'll post updates to the Working Group page. 

The agenda for this call is to figure out what we... Read more

Product Guide

CEUs are available for reading our entire plumbing guide. Click here to learn more and take the quiz.

Constructed wetlands and other natural filtration systems close the nutrient and water loop, permitting safe and sustainable wastewater treatment and reuse right on the site.

BuildingGreen-Approved Systems

We look for... Read more

Forum topic

Hello,

We are having a discussion / a bit of a debate in our office about the merits and sustainability of different roofing materials. Our current standard is to use a PVC membrane, which we all know is highly toxic. TPO is an obvious alternative that is less toxic, but it has some performance concerns and can often lead to leaking (not... Read more

Quiz

Welcome to the quiz portion of Community-Scale Sustainability: Accelerating Change for People and Planet

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


Explain how combining stakeholder efforts and resources can achieve greater resilience and sustainability for communities.

Discuss... Read more

Forum topic

In the run-up to Earth Day 2023, we're trying something new at VMDO: Full, public transparency on everything we know about how our portfolio is performing (or how we anticipate it performing). Here's a link to all of the details on our sixth year of reporting to the 2030 Commitment and more: https://www.vmdo.com/radical-transparency-commitment-... Read more

Forum topic

Has anyone had a Contractor track GHG emissions during construction? If so, any advice on how to include that in the project specifications?

Thanks!

Yarden

Forum topic

Anyone have experience with electric boilers? I think in cold climates it's perhaps the first thought when trying to reduce scope 1 emissions in an HVAC application that would have historically used gas-fired boilers... but it seems like they're only an incremental improvement compared to heat pumps / geothermal / VRF type solutions. We haven't... Read more

Forum topic

In the wake of pandemic WFH requirements, we are looking to revamp employee policies and I thought this type of information share would be something we Green Gurus would love to thought-share on. 

We are a very 'low-policy company' (20 when I joined, now 75 employees currently) and our employee handbook is quite small (5 pages). Most... Read more

Forum topic

Team SCL,

This was a tough week. My husband coined a phrase "20% laid off."

Unfortunately, 50% of our business is currently impacted by governmental orders stating that our work is non-essential. This is bitter-sweet. I certainly want people to be safe, but we've had to make some tough decisions and in the geographies that were... Read more

Forum topic

Seeking Pros/Cons, Feedback/Commentary about signing the US Architects Declare Commitment. 

https://us.architectsdeclare.com/

Reviewing against the "shoulds" and "shalls" of the 2020 AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct ... and other commitments that are out there ... any feedback welcome.

Tips for how your workflow... Read more

Forum topic

Hello, All, Is anyone familiar with One Click LCA software and resources?  Similarities/differences from a Tally or Athena approach?  Many thanks!

Campus-wide Group

Forum topic

Hi All,

I’m pulling together a Healthy Building Summit in Boston on August 14th.  Check it out here.  http://usgbcma.org/hbs18/

Nadav is moderating!  It would be great to have some of you great leaders in attendance.  We still have sponsorship opportunities. Let me know if you are interested.

-Meredith

Forum topic

Hey Sages, Just lobbing this over the transome - not sure if anyone else cares :) but this would be a great group to dig in if anyone IS interested.

 For the past few years, I've been working on melding two completely separate worlds - our world (with typical project delivery) and the world of Agile (not just software development process... Read more

Forum topic

Hi all - I can't remember this topic being posted recently so here goes. With fossil fuel free finally being something our clients are increasingly wanting to know about, we are stuck on diesel generators. They have several advantages including: cost, inherent refillability from a truck, reliability, and are the market standard. In initial... Read more

Author

Product Guide

Composting toilets convert human waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer for nonfood plants, rather than mixing the waste with potable water and flushing it down the drain. They can also save infrastructure costs and minimize the burden on wastewater systems.

They’re not for every project, but they do warrant consideration. Composting... Read more