Has anyone done inherent bias training in their firm, and if so, how'd it go? Do you have someone you'd recommend as a trainer/facilitator?   Thanks!

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

I looked through the forums and was surprised to see that from what I can tell this 2018 article from Yale I'm going to share here has not been discussed previously.  It basically says that FSC is not trustworthy, ineffective, and greenwashed, as critiqued by the likes of Greenpeace and others.

I would like to hear from someone in the... Read more

Many of you have heard me speak of our foundations effort to host a conference in Houston this November that is focusing on the social and economic side of community resilience preparedness. While we purposely are emphasizing these topic areas, we do see the importance of these conversations being witnessed by the design and planning community... Read more

Team,

Many of you saw the BlackRock letter.

https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter

Should we hold our consultants and suppliers accountable for climate change?

Best,
LL

Was anyone else surprised to see ASHRAE 228-2023 using eGRID Subregions for both the Regional Electricity Source Energy Conversion Factor and Regional Electricity Greenhouse Gas Emission Factors? In the past I have used eGRID sub-regions but also State and local utility conversion factors depending on what energy or operational carbon story I... Read more

Dear All,

I'm happy to announce the Call for Speakers for our next Gulf Coast Green conference, which will take place June 1, 2018 at Rice University in Houston.  The theme is Resilience: Beyond Recovery.  (Harvey, you know).  We absolutely love to have SDL members at Gulf Coast Green, and I know there are several of you who specialize... Read more

Hi Green Commons,

It’s been eerily quiet here since Tuesday night. I’ve been quiet mostly because I just didn’t know what to say. The election results are certainly a blow to pretty much everything we’ve been working for. There is so much we don’t know about things might play out, but I’m feeling a range of emotions ranging from... Read more

For those of you that attended Greenbuild this year you may have heard about the Legacy project taken on by the USGBCMA Chapter. The winning project was The Green Building Tech Club at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School. The USGBCMA Chapter recently reached out to me and asked if Structure Tone would take on an intern this summer,... Read more

Hi Folks, anyone in Boston (or willing to move) this could be a super cool opportunity for you! 

https://careers-bpda.icims.com/jobs/1557/senior-resilience-design-reviewer/job?mobile=false&width=805&height=500&bga=true&needsRedirect=false&jan1offset=-300&jun1offset=-240

Dear SD Leaders,

As some of you may have heard, EHDD has been working for the last year in developing a data model to support early phase goal setting for holistic low carbon design. This data model is at the heart of our Early Phase Integrated Carbon (EPIC) assessment tool. EPIC is a data-driven goal-setting tool for use in the earliest... Read more

Is this EDI, or JEDI? (Justice, Equity...)

Notes (attached) and Guiding Questions:

Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion In Our Firms

What are the barriers and what’s working to cut through them?

The process is so super slow... how to to celebrate our small achievements?

How are we fostering inclusion and... Read more

In trying to help a client write a case study on avoided carbon by using slag and flyash, I am having trouble finding a one for one equivalency that can be verified.

I have found for one pound of flyash, one pound of carbon is saved - but I can't verify that.

Appreciate the feedback!

Fellow Sages,

I was at an interesting lecture last night. Phil Bernstein (formerly of Autodesk, now at Yale) was speaking (in Lawrence, Kansas, at the U of Kansas) about AI and design/AEC ... you may know that he authored the 2022 book, Machine Learning, about AI and the AEC field. 

Phil has a very interesting posture about AI... Read more

Medium-density fiberboard (MDF), particleboard, and interior-grade plywood can emit formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen. Some materials  come from non-sustainable sources.

BuildingGreen-Approved Panels

Products meet California Air Resources Board (CARB) ultra-low emitting formaldehyde (ULEF) or no-added-... Read more