A McGraw-Hill Construction study, the

Education Green Building SmartMarket Report, suggests that green schools represent a growing sector of the construction market. The $53 billion education sector currently represents over 27% of the construction market by value, and the study suggests that the green portion of this market will be... Read more

The U.S. Green Building Council’s 2007 Emerging Green Builders Natural Talent Design Competition is accepting registrations. The competition is being held on the local level again this year, with 19 participating chapters each creating their competition around a local design challenge. For example, the Northern California chapter is asking... Read more

Both major associations of interior designers, the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), have entered into collaborative agreements with BuildingGreen, publisher of

Environmental Building News, that make online access to

BuildingGreen Suite available at a special... Read more

Great Britain is the latest to join the growing portfolio of countries with their own green building councils. The U.K. Green Building Council (UKGBC), headed by Paul King, will be the official British affiliate of the World Green Building Council and will promote and represent green building throughout the country. UKGBC has officially adopted... Read more

The Bank of America (BOA) has announced significant additions to its environmental initiatives, unveiling $20 billion in loan programs, market encouragement, and consumer products. For its commercial customers, BOA will launch a carbon emissions trading system and offer favorable consideration to loans for companies focusing on environmentally... Read more

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) seem to have reached widespread acceptance: large retailers such as Wal-Mart are encouraging their customers to purchase the energy-saving lamps, Chinese manufacturing has significantly reduced costs, and rebates are available for them in some areas. Now there are several initiatives to ban the sale and use of... Read more

Thank you for your recent review of Cradle to Cradle certification (see

EBN

Vol. 16, No. 2), and the more general look at nascent attempts to understand and assess the thousands of materials we put in our buildings. As usual, the article was thorough, clear, and complete, and I salute both

EBN and all those about whom... Read more

Vol. 15, No. 7.) LSG’s line of LED lighting products (see table below) incorporates the company’s proprietary Optimized Digital Lighting (ODL)... Read more

New Resource Bank, a San Francisco bank founded by a group of green entrepreneurs, is offering financial incentives for green building projects. The bank will offer a higher loan-to-value ratio and a 1⁄8% discount on rates for loans to commercial or multiunit residential green projects. Open since November 2006, the bank has financed several... Read more

The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has announced the creation of its first certification programs for ASHRAE members and other professionals. The four programs, to be launched between 2007 and 2008, will focus on healthcare facility mechanical systems, sustainability, commissioning and... Read more

• The

World Birding Center Headquarters in Mission, Texas, designed by Lake Flato Architects, is an integral part of... Read more

The energy firm BP (formerly British Petroleum) has announced the creation of the Energy Biosciences Institute and has selected the University of California–Berkeley, the University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to lead the effort. In addition to contributing $500 million over ten years, BP will also... Read more

With the durability and moisture-resistance advantages of cement and a carbon footprint closer to that of gypsum, Green E-Board panels are an intriguing new option for tile backerboard, wallboard, and potentially even exterior sheathing. The panels are manufactured from magnesium oxide (MgO) cement (also known as oxychloride cement), which is... Read more

The recent release of

Green Guide for Healthcare (GGHC) version 2.2 marks the end of a successful pilot program that included 115 healthcare facilities across the country (see

EBN

Vol. 14, No. 1). Improvements to GGHC, a point-based guide to green building for the healthcare industry, were based on feedback from project... Read more

TerraPass, Inc., one of the more prominent companies providing consumers with an easy way to offset the greenhouse gas emissions of their air travel by buying carbon offsets, has partnered with a manufacturer and a retailer to bring that option to a retail product. A pressure washer made by Kärcher USA will be sold on the shelves of Sam’s Club... Read more