Engineered wood efficiently utilizes fast-growing, small-diameter trees.

When sourced from responsibly managed forests, engineered wood can store carbon that would otherwise enter the atmosphere, and can replace high-embodied-carbon concrete and steel in some structural applications.

Engineered wood products can also provide a... Read more

Hello everyone!

My role at Sundt Construction is both a Preconstruction Project Manager, and Chairman of the company's sustainability committee. I've been involved in green building since 2001 and have been in leadership roles in both the Arizona and Minnesota USGBC Chapters. I look forward to being an active member of this group.... Read more

Friends,

Through AIA work I have been working with Kim Shinn from TLC Engineering. Kim is involved on the ASHRAE 209 development and has been advocating that the AIA, ASHRAE and USGBC align around this standard. Personally I think this is a good idea as I expect that this standard could easily make it's way into regulations and contracts... Read more

Has anyone used the new 3M Smog-Eating Granules on a roof before? Malarkey and Soprema are offering this as an option for their roof shingles. Seems like a great technology for urban areas, but I'd be curious to see if anyone here has actually successfully specified and installed it.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/roofing-granules-us/... Read more

Hi All,

Our local COTE committee has the opportunity to meet with a local jurisdiction on meeting the targets set forth by their Climate Action Plan.  In preparation I'm looking for innovative building codes/ordinaces that address existing buildings.  I am already digging into Boston's Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance... Read more

Hello Green Gurus!

The Climate Smart Wood Working Group would like to give a boost to this Ecotrust initiative to support the market proliferation of mass timber with science that attributes carbon impacts to wood building products. As many of you are aware, a couple years ago, the University of Washington partnered with Ecotrust to... Read more

For those of you who I haven’t met yet, my name is Amanda and I just joined the BuildingGreen team as the new Peer Networks Administrator. It’s great to be here! I’m joining BG with a background in food justice education as well as rescue animal care. All of my prior experience has involved collaborating with small teams and working towards a... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Ten Strategies for Growth in a Recession.

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


1. Understand the importance of diversifying.
2. Restate the benefits to doing energy-modeling analysis very early in the design process.
3. Discuss how... Read more

Hi Green Gurus!

I am trying to find a source for this chart/graph illustrating the relative cost of design and construction versus the long term operational and occupant costs. Any thoughts are appreciated.

yours,

jp

We are excited to share the REPORT from the 2019 Small Firm SDL Summit held in Las Vegas on June 5th. Take a look and use this forum to post questions and comments that will allow us to engage our new members as we continue the valuable conversations begun at the Summit. As you will read in the introduction, we know that collectively small... Read more

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/06/04/new-china-policies-spark-di...

New China policies spark disarray in region’s recycling industry
Buried in the mountains of refuse at Casella’s recycling plant in Charlestown are tons of material that should have gone straight to the landfill — from tires and pots to lobster buoys and... Read more

Dear All!

I recently met a passionate new hire at an architecture firm in NYC.  Her firm is reluctant to taking meaningful steps towards increasing sustainable impacts of their projects.  (Their work is in market rate of all types.)  This new hire is frustrated with the lack of sustainable adoption and understanding.

What would... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of "Spec This, Not That: Avoiding Toxic Chemicals in Commercial Building Projects"!

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


Hi! Just saw this White House press release stating that federal suppliers will need to report on scope 1 & 2, and relevant scope 3 emissions and climate-related financial risks as well as set science-based emission reduction targets. The cutoff for disclosure requirements is $50m in federal contracts. Curious whether this affects any... Read more

Hi folks,

BSR/ASHRAE/ICC Standard 240P, Quantification of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Buildings, is out for Public Review until March 18. It covers what construction activities have to be tracked and reported and provides placeholder values to use during design. If you have input or suggestions on what would be needed to make... Read more

Water and electrical metering and submetering equipment provide valuable diagnostic information and verification of building energy and water usage.

Measuring Water Use

The Alliance for Water Efficiency recommends metering all new connections, retrofitting meters onto existing unmetered connections, and submetering all new... Read more