Welcome to the quiz portion of Finding Furniture Without Toxic Flame Retardants.

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


1. Explain why avoiding toxic flame retardants is important.
2. Explain how we were swindled into dosing our buildings and our bodies with flame... Read more

Dear Esteemed colleagues: I was recently asked a good question in light of the impending (fingers crossed) passage of the reconciliation bill that will bring alot of funding to energy efficiency/decarbonization upgrades at the residential scale. The question is: What are the arguments/ scenarios about the importance for homeowners to contract... Read more

Replacing windows is expensive and comes with high impacts, but simple films can improve performance.

BuildingGreen-Approved Films

BuildingGreen approves three types of window films:

Energy... Read more

Hi SDLers: ESG Investing is mushrooming which is a very good thing. AIA National, for example, just switched over to 100% ESG investments. With it, there seems to be a growing number of "ESG-lite" options. I'm wondering if anyone among this informed group has recommendations on how to determine a quality investment approach. I'd appreciate any... Read more

Hello SCL,

Quick reminder to sign up for our SCL Summit in May! True to usual form, we ask what’s important to YOU before we finalize an agenda. In the next couple of weeks, we will be sending out a draft agenda and asking for your feedback. Sign up now so your voice will be heard. Initial ideas so far have included:

The COTE Toolkit just launched on AIA.org's site, please go and check it out and share with your networks. The project spanned over the last year+ with over 40 authors, subject matter experts, and reviewers contributing to the process, (including many Green Gurus!)

With the goal of closing the information gap to designing high... Read more

Hi All, 

The rural concrete supplier that is used for most of our projects sources their fly ash from a nearby coal burning plant that is scheduled to be closed in the next two years. In anticipation of this, they are looking into alternative fly ash sources and SCM options and we'd like to provide suggestions.

Does anyone have... 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

I am looking for examples of police stations and fire stations that are operating at an ENERGY STAR or better level.  Google searches have not provided much to go on - I found one net zero energy police station (Cincinnati Police District 3 West Side).  Curiously, Justice Facilities Review write ups do not include details about energy... Read more

Hi all,

We have been noodling on how to preference socially just building products and are feeling a little overwhelmed by the number of questions that we would need to ask our suppliers. Essentially we find ourselves wishing that there was a fair trade label for building products very similar to the one for global agriculture. Or, maybe... Read more

Hi everyone,

I’d like to invite you to join this Friday’s webinar hosted by the Embodied Carbon Network: Using Whole Building LCA to Reduce Embodied Carbon within LEED and Beyond, and to follow up with a tool that I presented at this summer’s Architecture SDL summit, which ZGF has now upgraded and made free to the industry at large.... Read more

Good morning all,

I'm new to the forum and I am really happy to be here. For the last year or so, I have been working to advance high performance design at Flad, grappling with so many of the issues discussed in this forum. Especially in the context of recent times, it feels really wonderful to join a group of people dedicated to helping... Read more

We are coordinating an effort to produce a "Building Reuse Practice Guide for Climate Action" for the AIA.  This is intended as a resource for architects working on major renovations and adaptive reuse, with a focus on reducing energy use, lower embodied carbon, electrification, and adapting to a changing climate. We are looking for around 5... Read more

After reviewing BP language today with internal staff, we realized we'll need to add a glossary to explain industry jargon and technical terms that might not be widely used. I'd like to consolidate those terms onto one web page, a glossary. This probably should be on the list with the best practices, and it will need its own page. Thanks!

Welcome to the quiz portion of Doing Daylighting Right.

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


1. Explain occupants' needs and habits when it comes to daylighting.
2. Recognize at least three recent mistakes in daylighting design and their respective alternatives going... Read more

Hello all,

Does anyone know of any Rebate Program for either induction cooking equipment or kitchen electrification (new or existing)? Looking for any local or state or even federal programs (outside of California) that incentivize designing/building/retrofitting towards an all electric kitchen for any program type (institutional, single... Read more

Anyone know of tools/methodologies for estimating embodied carbon and carbon sequestration potential of individual green infrastructure projects (e.g. bioswale along bikeway)? I've seen tools for the larger scale (e.g. land use change) as well as specific to trees (e.g. i-Tree), but these don't fully meet my needs.

Thanks!