News Brief
At first glance,
An Environmental Handbook for Florida Contractors looks like it deals only with the environmental regulations that Florida contractors must contend with. And, indeed, the Handbook describes in detail the requirements for complying with regulations at the federal, state, and local levels. But the book goes much further,... Read more
Product Review
The company's promotional material is the epitome of environmentally friendly packaging—like a Ben & Jerry's annual report. The article reprints sent were even bound in a jacket made from corrugated cardboard. So we were quite intrigued by the product. Syndecrete™ is a lightweight, pre-cast,... Read more
Feature
Ozone depletion and global warming are two of our most serious environmental problems—and foam insulation materials containing CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) contribute significantly to both of these problems. The environmentally concerned builder or designer should make it a highest priority to avoid them. Even many of the non-CFC alternatives... Read more
Feature
Susan Maxman is the first AIA president to make sustainable design a priority.
Q.Where would you say architects as a group stand on environmental issues?
A.Architects tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is important that we take the lead on these environmental issues. The architecture schools in particular tend to be conservative. They just aren’t... Read more
Feature
Carefully stake the building site and driveway, remove trees that are within the excavation area or too close, then erect a fence to keep heavy equipment off fragile soils and away from nearby trees.
Protecting trees and the local ecosystem when building on previously unbuilt land is a vitally important—yet often overlooked—part of environmentally responsible construction. Healthy trees and shrubs can reduce a home’s environmental impact and directly benefit homeowners in a number of ways:
•Enhancing comfort by shielding the house... Read more
News Brief
The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental... Read more
Op-Ed
Introducing the first issue of our newsletter.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more
Forum topic
Hi Everyone,
Who has worked on a SITES certification and can share the approximate hours involved for administering and completing documentation? A relative sense of the effort compared to LEED would also be helpful, similar to the thread about WELL on this same subject.
Appreciate any insight. Thanks! -Hilary
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So our last webinar effort flamed out with the overloaded internet, but we've regrouped and have the session scheduled for this Thursday 4/2 at 1:10. We pre-recorded the webinar to make sure everything goes smoothly and I have to say that Mike is delivering some pretty fantastic content. It doesn't engage LCA tools, rather focusing on core... Read more
Forum topic
In the wake of pandemic WFH requirements, we are looking to revamp employee policies and I thought this type of information share would be something we Green Gurus would love to thought-share on.
We are a very 'low-policy company' (20 when I joined, now 75 employees currently) and our employee handbook is quite small (5 pages). Most... Read more
Basic page
The Sustainable Community Design Leaders Peer Network brings together planners, architects, landscape architects, and allied leaders who are committed to leveraging the... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all - I can't remember this topic being posted recently so here goes. With fossil fuel free finally being something our clients are increasingly wanting to know about, we are stuck on diesel generators. They have several advantages including: cost, inherent refillability from a truck, reliability, and are the market standard. In initial... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all,
We are looking for a great energy analyst with communication skills to join NBBJ - if you know someone who fits the bill, send them my way! http://jobs.jobvite.com/nbbj/job/oTrk8fww
Margaret
Forum topic
My name is Boyd and I’m the newest member of the BuildingGreen Peer Networks team. I’m joining BG after a long line of jobs in the service industry. I’ve worked everywhere from breweries to adventure sports companies and I’ve loved every job along the way. I was drawn to BG because of my history of meeting people and fostering connections and... Read more
Forum topic
Lake|Flato developed a project process road map as an internal project management tool over a decade ago, and we're looking into updating it. It serves as a sort of "checklist" of major design, sustainability, and QA/QC milestones for each project phase. I know we've talked about similar tools at other firms at past SDL summits, so wanted to... Read more
Forum topic
Hi (again) all,
Jacobs is looking to hire specifically for sustainability needs! We have a current job posting for a Senior Sustainability Specialist now up, and anticipate a similar posting soon for a mid-level person as well. Location for these would be in the Mountain or Pacific time zones, remote work is fine; other future... Read more
Forum topic
Hey Sages, Just lobbing this over the transome - not sure if anyone else cares :) but this would be a great group to dig in if anyone IS interested.
For the past few years, I've been working on melding two completely separate worlds - our world (with typical project delivery) and the world of Agile (not just software development process... Read more

