Energy Source™ Directory

Energy Source Directory arrived. Assembled and published by Iris Communications, this is the most complete and most useful guide to specialized products and materials used in energy-efficient construction that we've seen. The 500-page directory is... Read more

The City of Austin’s Green Builder Program was one of 12 award recipients in the United National Local Government Honours Programme at the Earth Summit in Rio, and the only winner from the United States. “The purpose of the Honours Programme is to recognize innovative local approaches to... Read more

Carol Venolia, Publisher/Editor

The company's promotional material is the epitome of environmentally friendly packaging—like a Ben & Jerry's annual report. The article reprints sent were even bound in a jacket made from corrugated cardboard. So we were quite intrigued by the product. Syndecrete™ is a lightweight, pre-cast,... Read more

It isn’t just environmental zealots who are up in arms about the U.S. Forest Service’s policies on managing the nation’s timber resources. The Association of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics has jumped into the fray—from the inside. Jeff DeBonis, the Association’s founder and executive director,... Read more

The recent ruling to allow logging on several thousand acres of old-growth forest in western Oregon was portrayed in the national media as a blow to environmentalists, but the action may not prove so damaging in the end. While the ruling permits logging on 13 of the 44 sites that were under consideration by the so-... Read more

The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental... Read more

Ozone depletion and global warming are two of our most serious environmental problems—and foam insulation materials containing CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) contribute significantly to both of these problems. The environmentally concerned builder or designer should make it a highest priority to avoid them. Even many of the non-CFC alternatives... Read more

Q.Where would you say architects as a group stand on environmental issues?

A.Architects tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is important that we take the lead on these environmental issues. The architecture schools in particular tend to be conservative. They just aren’t... Read more

Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more

Protecting trees and the local ecosystem when building on previously unbuilt land is a vitally important—yet often overlooked—part of environmentally responsible construction. Healthy trees and shrubs can reduce a home’s environmental impact and directly benefit homeowners in a number of ways:

•Enhancing comfort by shielding the house... Read more

If you want to know more about the MEP 2040 Challenge, our first quarterly forum will be held on March 18th, 2022 11 am to 1 pm Eastern, and will be discussing decarbonization in the MEP space.  See link below for the agenda and registration.

https://network.carbonleadershipforum.org/civicrm/mailing/view?id=206&reset=1

I... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Certified Wood: How SFI Compares to FSC.

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


1. Describe how forestry standards engage with pesticide use, protection of old growth forests and forest biota, and prevention of deforestation.
2. Discuss... Read more

Hello SCL, 

We’ve heard that some of you have a hankering to connect with this group outside of the Summit and the forum. On prompting by the steering committee, we’ve decided to try out quarterly SCL-only calls focused on a dedicated topic. 

The first of these calls will be Tuesday, April 13th at 4pm ET (1pm PT) and the topic... Read more

I'm working with the AIA Minneapolis chapter on guidance for small firms related to how and when to energy model. A lot of small firms would like to sign the AIA 2030 Commitment (we had 100 in a room in 2022 in a session led by Nadav and Gwen Fuertes). But we have learned that a) they don't have a good way to energy model small commercial to... Read more

Please help share the latest COTE news, with reports from the AIA Conference, a letter from chair Lori Ferriss, Michelle Amt's review of the 2023 Top Ten winners, and more.

**Be sure to make a note**
The COTE Top Ten Awards cycle has changed. The adjusted timeline is already upon us: The 2024 awards call opens on August 8, and... Read more

SDL folks,

I wanted to make sure that you all saw that the call for presentations is open for AIA Houston’s Gulf Coast Green conference.  GCG is the leading sustainable design conference in the region and has historically had some great participation from this group.  The theme this year is Sustainability + Technology.  Details here:... Read more

Hello, all! I'm working on an in-depth article about adaptive thermal comfort. I'm looking for interviewees who have real-world experience of working with ATC on a project, including occupant feedback. If you have that kind of experience, I'd love to hear from you!

This is happening on a very tight timeline, so please get in touch with... Read more