All--

I haven't been part of this group in a while, but I'm excited to have rejoined recently. Some of you know that I joined HMC last year as Chief Impact Officer. I oversee design, sustainability, research, and communications for the firm, which has 300 people in 6 offices in California. We were founded in 1940 with a mission to serve... Read more

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

Welcome to the quiz portion of The Hidden Science of High-Performance Building Assemblies.

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


1. Define hygrothermal pressure and explain what it requires of water, air, and thermal barriers in high-performance assemblies.
2. Explain... Read more

As Editorial Director for BuildingGreen, Tristan Roberts brings a deep commitment to environmental stewardship, a broad knowledge about sustainable design, deep understanding of green building products, and a mastery of all things LEED. A longtime contributor of in-depth feature articles in Environmental Building News and regular reporting on... Read more

Hi all,

We are in the process of pursuing the Integrative Process for Health Promotion pilot credit on a project. Has anyone been through the process? What did you learn? How did it change/inform your design? Would you do it again?

Thanks!

Michelle

Sustainability leadership has requested that you take this quiz to help assess sustainability literacy across the firm. Your own results will be presented to you at the end of the quiz but will not be shared with anyone else. Only aggregated, anonymized results will be available to others.

Please don’t do research to inform your... Read more

Know any awesome sustainability leaders within GC or CM firms? They can be at mid-sized or large construction companies—any firm in the ENR top 400 qualifies for sure, others might need some vetting. The key is people who have sustainability as the focus of how they spend their time--either formally by title or otherwise. 

We want to... 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

Team,

What are the M vs. E vs. P(FP) ratios of fee distribution you use in your company for a commercial office building?  How about a residential/hotel?

Best,

Luke Leung

I'm looking for products that have cradle to cradle documentation, as well as EPD's & HPD's and are red list free.  What are your go to websites when you're researching products?

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

SmithGroup is hosting Metropolis Magazine for a “Think Tank Event on Waterfront Redevelopment and Urban Resilience”.   While the event is in our office, if you're not in DC, it will also be broadcast live on Facebook Live (https://www.facebook.com/events/1299577320146259/) Feel free to share this invitation with others.  Information about the... Read more

Looking for a recommendation for architectural renderings who would be interested in doing some work for a Direct Air Capture project. A friend is working on a project with Deep Sky and I'd love to make a connection to someone(s) affiliated with the network, if possible.

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

Hi all - we have several projects where money from the IRA may be able to get projects farther. I've seen the AIA/USGBC webinar and done some other research as well. Does anyone know if there's a Higher Ed group that is chasing down how and when the money is available and for what exact purposes? Are you planning on using consultants to help... Read more

Good morning. If you're worried  like I am by today's new IPCC Report and would like some helpful explanation I recommend reading climate scientist Zeke Hausfather's lengthy Twitter feed summarizing key aspects with graphics. It's here https://twitter.com/hausfath/status/1424642708291821569?s=21

of course we need to see this as an even... Read more

Register now for the next two quarterly SCL calls, brought to you by members of the Steering Committee! These calls are just for SCL members, topical for construction leaders, and hold space for us to learn directly from each other. See you there!

Everything You Wanted to Know About EVs, but Were Afraid to Ask

Monday, March 7th at... Read more