The LBC v4.0 materials imperatives for Responsible Materials (Core) & Responsible Sourcing require a majority of wood materials (by cost) to be FSC. Sure. But what is - or isn't - considered wood? The Clarification page for the imperative's scope and a key definition poses a perplexing conundrum: 

"All wood included in the Materials... Read more

Hi - I'm wondering if you have recommendations for a web/mobile app for occupants to self-assess comfort at regular intervals. I've downloaded comfy, but it wants to actually DO something about thermal discomfort by alerting discomfort and connecting, I believe, to the BMS. We just want to collect information at this point. And since I'm a... Read more

Textiles have some of the worst environmental records of any product found in our buildings. Textile production uses a number of hazardous chemicals and pollutes water; and its environmental impacts often affect our most vulnerable populations.

BuildingGreen favors textiles made using fibers and manufacturing processes that have low... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Stone, The Original Green Building Material.

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


1. Explain how stone is natural and durable, emits no VOCs, requires almost no maintenance, and provides a connection to the earth and our history.
2.... Read more

Hey team,

I'll go look to see who's in the MEP group, but does anyone in this circle have a northern California design engineer for institutional work that they'd particularly recommend? A group of folks we're engaged with is apparently having difficulty identifying a California-based MEP that everyone universally likes for high-... Read more

If you are interested in sharing this Guide within your organization and adding a copy to your library, please purchase the site-license guide.

The world’s most powerful customers are looking to rein in the excesses of their suppliers. Climate change is the likely catalyst for a recent uptick in calls for corporate transparency... Read more

Hello Sustainable Construction Leaders!

I have an exciting announcement today, fall Peer Network events are now open for registration! You can see all the event details and register here!

Based on feedback we received from past events and the most recent surveys, we decided against doing one long week of events for this fall and... Read more

I thought some folks here might be interested in a webinar we have coming up this Thursday 12/6 on the topic of best practices for occupant comfort surveys. Although this webinar is part of our Roast launch series, it will be tool agnostic, with information that will be applicable to any occupant survey regardless of tools used. 

To... Read more

Does anyone have any research studies they could share on the effect of construction/renovation noise and activity on employee productivity?  I'm trying to make a case for the measurable negative impacts of having ongoing renovation construction activity in an office environment.  Thanks!

Hi Everyone! 

I am building our internal/firm resources around sustainable design, and creating our post-occupancy evaluations is one of those resources. Does anyone have references or resources they'd recommend me to look into for post-occupancy evaluations? So far I am considering a few evalutation types: building user input, building... Read more

Hi All,

Polling the group to see if anyone has experience with Simergy - an e+ based modeling tool?

The tool appears to have features and integration with a lot of e+ plugins that make it attractive - but i haven't heard of its widespread use.

Is anyone successfully using Simergy?

Hello Green Gurus,

Here is the information for this month's first Peer Networks Webinar, Previewing the WELL Equity Rating: a roadmap for advancing DEI. So sorry for the short notice - we had a pileup of tech issues and time off. We hope you can still join us!

Register HERE.

Previewing the WELL Equity Rating: a roadmap for... Read more

Great career opportunity to make an impact on existing buildings and emissions reductions. City of Seattle will be hiring a full time Building Emissions Reduction Technical Advisor. Closing date to apply is August 6. Please share if you know someone who may be a candidate.

Description from city of Seattle:
Want to influence large... Read more

Hi Sustainable MEP Leaders!

As we discussed at the Summit, we are going to have monthly calls to check in and advance our various initiatives. Let's go with the 2nd Tuesday of the Month.

Please join if you can--we have a lot to follow up on! (See the report I posted earlier this week for details.)

Thanks, and have a great... Read more

I'm advising a nonprofit organization (the Retreat Farm) on whose board I sit that is renovating a large, 8,000 sf, 19th Century barn into a large community meeting space and wedding venue. We are looking for a source of either folding or stacking chairs that are durable, low-maintenance, and environmentally responsible. We may be seeking... Read more

Anne Hicks Harney, FAIA, has more than 30 years of experience, focusing on high-quality design imbued with a solid technical and sustainable foundation. At Long Green Specs, she provides sustainability-focused construction specifications and building material expertise to architectural firms across the country. She was chair of the AIA... Read more