A brief non-technical rant about OneClick LCA - from someone who is not actually USING the tool, but lobbying for its access.  Wondering if you all have better intel, or if it is just me.

We are working on a number of projects for which te teams are using OneClick LCA - for some cases it has a better international data set than others. ... Read more

Hi all, we have a date for our SCL Carbon Group online meeting.  Looking forward to connecting with you all on 2/26!

Please see agenda below.

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Join Skype Meeting      

Trouble... Read more

SDLers – For one of our projects we are working with local tribes to procure timber. We would also like to get FSC certification, but haven’t found significant overlap between these two criteria in the Pacific Northwest. There appear to be two certification entities in our area: Northwest Natural Resource Group and Trout Mountain Forestry.  I’m... Read more

Hi all,

We have a newly constructed, core/shell project having some hot water issues in the core restrooms.

There is a 0.35 Toto lav installed throughout. The hot water heaters are adjacent on each floor, located in the janitor closets. We did the math, and there could be a gallon of water standing and cooling in the pipe between... Read more

Does anyone have language from an RFP that had specific performance criteria included that they could share? Such as a specific EUI target, detailed language about net zero, passive house, etc.

Hello SCL- as we move closer towards the release of the Contractors Commitment we have realized that we need a donation of graphics/marketing help from one of our member firms.

We are looking for help with a BG SCL Contractors Commitment logo, landing page, document organization, and any graphics we might need to highlight the... Read more

It may take hundreds or thousands of years to return to pre-industrial-age levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, but the loss of animal and plant species that is occurring today is, practically speaking, irreversible. It will take millions of years for evolution to fill the ecological niches being vacated by extinctions and restore healthy... Read more

Thanks to SERA especially David, Kira and Clark for an inspirational conversation with Paul Hawken about his latest book. I know I needed a positive perspective! Then I found this great "Regeneration Anthem" song and had to share.

https://regeneration.org/news/210915-we-can-change-world-regeneration-an...

Happy Fall to all.

Join Brent & Alex to learn what's new and what's been updated in our BuildingGreen Guide to Thermal Insulation, Fourth Edition, including what you should know about:

So much has changed so quickly!

Our 30-minute roundtable... Read more

Hi everyone,

Have your projects explored, pursued, or successfully achieved the domestic content bonus for PV systems within the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Investment Tax Credit? I have a project that is considering adding the IRA domestic content requirements and we are trying to understand the nuances and potential challenges (cost... Read more

Hi SD Leaders,

As you may be aware, this past April a group of manufacturers calling themselves the Living Product 50 responded to the letters that many of us sent about five years ago advocating for transparency in their product ingredients.  A copy of that letter can be reviewed about midway through the page at this link:  https://... Read more

Have any of you relied on Green Badger for LEED documentation on projects?

I am familiar with the tool and know Tommy from my time in Atlanta, but have not used it on a construction project.

Have you found value? Thoughts?

Either way, they publish a pretty nifty "LEED v4 Construction Tool Kit" that may be useful for your... Read more

Hi there SD Leaders,

We're running an LCA on one of our projects that's about to start construction that has had serious embodied carbon goals and I got a result that really surprised me. I haven't been able to find any obvious/glaring issues with the work, but these results are strange enough that I'm not feeling confident. I'm hoping... Read more

Hi all!

I've heard several people talk about developing tools for assessing/codifying a client's values for a project as part of an integrated design process (ie. a set of questions, survey, etc.). Would anyone be willing to share?

(Z, are you listening? I specifically recall you mentioning a tool like this...)

Thanks!... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Retrocommissioning: Big Savings for Big Buildings.

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


1. Define the term retrocommissioning.
2. Explain how whole-systems RCx differs from energy-focused RCx.
3. Describe several examples of how... Read more

Hello,

We’re looking for Design Energy Code Equivalents for Chinese commercial energy codes. Do any of you have  any good sources? I’ve only found data comparing ASHRAE 90.1 2013 to the Chinese Code at that time. We understand the Chinese code require a 65-75% energy savings over the baseline but don’t have good information for defining... Read more

Hello SDL!

Has anyone set "Ecosystem Benefits/Service" targets for an individual project or for all their projects? I was previously against the idea of even measuring ecosystem benefits but I've had my mind changed in recent months!

Currently we want to set a target for every project to: "Improve ecosystem benefits on every site... Read more

Hi: Please check out the fantastic editorial from Ned Cramer at Architect on "The Future of Architecture Education is the Future of Civilization". The deadline to comment on the latest draft of the NAAB accreditation criteria is November 22 and, as in the past draft, it falls far short of prioritizing climate action and sustainability. VERY... Read more

Hi Gurus,

As some of you may remember, my spouse, Moshe Cohen did a short negotiation mini-training at SDL some years ago - but there's many of you who weren't there - so this is for you!

He will be doing a training in two parts on Nov 17 and 24th from 9-12 EST. He's the BEST (even objectively!!) and honestly, if you want to... Read more