Hi everyone, 

Following November's SCL Summit, I put together a model Construction Waste Management Action Plan based on the ideas shared in our focus group. It is linked below in Google docs, so everyone should have access to live edit the plan. Please take a look and add comments if you can. It's a very rough outline, so we can... Read more

Hello Green Gurus!

Quick introduction as this is my first time posting - Louis Koehl, AIA, CPHD, Director of Sustainable Design at Handel Architects, based in NY. I recently joined the SDL Forum and met some of you at the regional summit and Greenbuild.  I'm excited to continue to connect with such an influential group! 

My... Read more

Per our discussion on today's SMEP call, it would be interesting to have a more in-depth discussion on Indoor Air Quality. Questions I have personally...

For those of you who have attended the event above, I think you will agree this has been a high quality event.  But DFC is changing the forum this year. Instead of holding an annual event in September, this year they are holding 4 half day events around the country.  Attendance will be limited to 40 people and it is focused on sustainability... Read more

Discarded tires are an environmental disaster, and finding a beneficial use for them is a high priority.

BuildingGreen does not approve any flooring product that is made with tire-derived rubber, though some products may be appropriate for exterior use.

Hi friends, 

Before i forget, here is the checklist I mentioned yesterday that got such a positive response in our office - again it came about after i was asked (for the Nth time) to write a sustainability description for a concept proposal/ RFP that I was not a part of and frankly didn't have a lot going for it. So it's framed as "you... Read more

I have a client seeking grant funding & they're vetting current US technology around large-scale prefabricated mass timber. My question to this group is if this currently exists anywhere in the US.

Qualifications:

10+ years experience manufacturing and installing large-scale prefabricated mass timber elements into completed... Read more

THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.

Are your clients asking you about wellness? You’re not alone. Healthy interiors and wellbeing are the trending buzzwords of sustainable design. In this hour-long live webinar, GreenStep Education's Alex Spilger will walk you through the seven concepts within WELL and describe what sets... Read more

Hey there hive mind,

We went looking through LEEDuser to try and find some direction and didn't find much so I thought I'd bring my team's question here to all of you smart people. We're working on a non-combustion central plant tied to a geothermal field and grid electricity. The project has cooling towers and their associated chemical... Read more

Hi All,

I'm teaching a class this semester at CU Boulder on Zero Carbon Buildings and Cities (a new class that I'm making up as I go). The hardest part, I'm finding, is locating some good materials that cover the basics of energy efficiency for non-building engineers or designers (we are energy and sustainability generalists in this... Read more

I read a very misleading article on the AIA's website today regarding antimicrobials and the benefit of microbicidals in paint. It was written by a manufacturer, not a healthcare professional, and was not obviously labeled as sponsored content on the website. (I received the link in an email, which did label it as such).

https://www.aia.... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Climate Analysis for Architects (recorded webcast).

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


1. Access climate data.
2. Choose appropriate design energy simulation tools.
3. Know when and how to run analyses with projected weather data... Read more

I was recently asked if there is a way to quantify financially what one MT eCO2 might be worth in the context of a building owner reducing their own carbon emissions.  How do you put a dollar value on those reductions?  Does anyone have experience with that or can you point me to the correct resource to answer this question?

Pint-flush and non-water urinals can save tens of thousands of gallons of potable water per year. A single non-water-using urinal can save more than 10,000 gallons of water per year compared with the U.S. EPA standard of 1.0 gallon per flush (gpf).

When older 3.0 gpf urinals are replaced, the savings can be as great as 50,000 gallons... Read more

The Getting to Zero Forum is happening next week in Minneapolis, Minnesota (my home state!). Anyone else from this group planning to attend in person? I'm especially curious as the Forum comes so quickly on the heals of the Living Future Conference.

As a proud Minnesotan, I have a hard time imagining how anyone could ignore an... Read more

I'm putting together information on natural gas bans (or put another way, all electric buildings) for an advocacy effort and looking for some experts. Anyone have thoughts on banning natural gas and other fossil fuels on residential projects? Specifically what are the considerations/challenges/opportunities at each scale (single family, low... Read more