Ben Hewitt works behind the scenes to build and maintain BuildingGreen.com and LEEDuser. He brings with him over two decades of experience in his field. As an efficient problem-solver, his goal is to make the websites more user-friendly for his coworkers and designers and project teams using BuildingGreen’s resources.

Ben has proficiency... Read more

If I'm remembering correctly, someone at the summer summit mentioned working on / or being familiar with the Berkeley CA gas ban. A town here in MA is also considering a ban and wanted to get some feedback from Berkeley.

Hi folks, 

A few of us at SERA recently connected with a couple of women in the tech industry who are looking to solve sustainability issues with new software. They're in the "problem definition" phase and are eager to hear from SDL members about the big issues around operational and embodied carbon that we're tackling. See below and... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Building as an Organism: Understanding the Integrative Process Credit in LEED v4 Projects (recorded webcast)

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


1. Explain why integrative design is the key to cost-effective, high performance green buildings and LEED... Read more

Hello, folks! We recently had contact with Northeastern University about sand. I know it sounds ... dry. But sand shortages are a serious issue globally and are leading to criminal activity everywhere and even "sand mafias" in poorer nations without resources to enforce mining laws.

The ask from Northeastern is that BuildingGreen amplify... Read more

Friends,

This is a personal note. My son was just diagnosed with Asthma. I’m started to wonder if it’s just coincidence that this corresponded with him starting kindergarten in a school where they clean with Chlorine bleach. I found substitutes for his small preschool and at home.  My understanding is that there’... Read more

Meant to serve generations, ADUs are versatile and carbon friendly. ADUs increase housing density and reduce sprawl. They can be climate-positive and can transform existing dwellings into multigenerational homes to give people the ability to age in place. This feature focuses on how the construction of ADUs is an opportunity to build something... Read more

I see that the Architect 50 questions this year are organized around AIA 2030 Commitment reporting. I have a question about how people are answering them. The DDX reports have percentages that are by GSF. Are people using this percentage to answer the questions? Or are you calculating the percentage based on number of projects out of total... Read more

Hello Sustainable Construction Leaders, 

Mark your calendars! The next quarterly SCL call will be Wednesday, July 28th, 3pm ET (noon PT) and will focus on ESG.

Check in with three contractors at varying levels of development in their ESG programs. Julia Gisewite from Turner Construction, Jennifer Taranto from STO Building Group,... Read more

Hi All - I wanted to share out the All For Reuse initiative below by two peers in the sustainable materials management network. I know some SDL have already done much research on this from quite a few angles, and those with LBC experience probably even moreso in practice. 

Frances Yang (Arup) and Andrew Ellsworth (Doors Unhinged) have... Read more

Hi all,

We recently learned that Mass Dept of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) along with a few other state agencies are looking to offer grants for wastewater heat recovery implemented into projects. This is a newer technology that puts a heat exchanger or heat pump in the wastewater system that then extracts the heat energy and... Read more

We are working on a large healthcare project in Minnesota.  We're setting sustainability goals a bit late - no certification, but targets with accountability.  I'm working to determine recycled steel content (for structural steel and rebar), and I've gotten a bit of push-back on recycled content based on being in the region of the Iron Range... Read more

HI All,

Built Environment Plus, a green building member-based non-profit in Boston, is looking for a dynamic person to lead our expansive Education Program which includes courses taught by BuildingGreen and many others in this network. Check out the offerings here: Trainings Archive - Built Environment Plus

This is a critical and... Read more

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

Since the launch of the Contractor’s Commitment in late 2020, nineteen companies have become signatories and many others are using the guidelines as a roadmap for their firms.   Now that the pilot year of the Contractor’s Commitment is complete, it is important to consider if and how the guidelines should evolve to be the most impactful.  Over... Read more

Hi Green Gurus: check out this new series from AIAU that delves into the design and planning application of the 4th National Climate Assessment Report by region with some more recent updates. Free to members...looks like some great speakers and highly relevant. 

https://aiau.aia.org/regional-tour-climate-risk-planning-and-design

... Read more