Hi folks,

As you've no doubt heard from us by now (several times), in lieu of Summer Summits this year we're offering a combination of events this fall. Our series kicked off last week with a great Regional Mini-Summit in Boston. Regional events like this were in our plans before COVID blew everything up, so this one was a long-time... Read more

Hi all,

The USGBC Pacific Region is launching a new award this year that recognizes projects that have aspires to promote health of occupants and surrounding communities.  In true USGBC style, this award has not been properly publicized, so they are still looking for submissions.  I believe the deadline will be extended to June 7.  I... Read more

Can furniture be hazardous? You bet it can…

From flame retardants in foam cushions to unnecessary stain and dirt repellents on upholstery materials, everyday... Read more

Hello,

Are you seeing any traction with LEED v4 O+M: Transit?

Cheers, Mona

Ben Hewitt works behind the scenes to build and maintain BuildingGreen.com and LEEDuser. He brings with him over two decades of experience in his field. As an efficient problem-solver, his goal is to make the websites more user-friendly for his coworkers and designers and project teams using BuildingGreen’s resources.

Ben has proficiency... Read more

Will any SDL folks be at AASHE in Pittsburgh next week? Would love to grab a coffee and catch up. 

Hello all, excuse the blast and the short timeline -- while not explicity sustainability-related, this is a great way to connect with the future of the profession, and can be a great opportunity for SDL firms on the west coast (a number of SDL firms already participate), specifically in Tacoma, Olympia, San Francisco, Sacramento, or San Diego.... Read more

As promised at the SDL Summer Summet: Hennepin County Energy & Environment's new Project Manager’s Guide to Material Reuse in Commercial Buildings, with specification language, guidance for procurement, and case studies of successful reuse projects around the country. This resource is meant to help owners, architects, and contractors... Read more

I have to admit that I wasn't particularly paying attention to LEED during Greenbuild, but anyone recall the "big announcement by USGBC" that LEED v4.1 is coming?

Article can be found @ Green Building Law Update by Stuart Kaplow and the title is "LEED v4.1 Announced by USGBC at Greenbuild."

https://www.greenbuildinglawupdate.com/... Read more

A brief non-technical rant about OneClick LCA - from someone who is not actually USING the tool, but lobbying for its access.  Wondering if you all have better intel, or if it is just me.

We are working on a number of projects for which te teams are using OneClick LCA - for some cases it has a better international data set than others. ... Read more

Hi folks,

I'm looking into lower-carbon pipe options for HVAC and plumbing. The MEP 2040 has slides from a Buro Happold study in 2020 showing PEX to be much lower in embodied carbon than copper, which is unsurprising. CPVC is also a lower-carbon option.

But PVC has its issues and neither PVC nor PEX are recyclable (especially if... Read more

The ReUse Map created through the Material Flows Working Group is live and got some great traction at Greenbuild (Thank you Nadav and Barbara!).

To keep the map relevant and updated, we'll be looking at how to fund the maintenance of the map, the best ways to get the word out and looking at writing a white paper. If you want to be part... Read more

Faucets with high flow rates waste water—not to mention the energy used to treat and deliver it to our buildings—and the additional water stresses our wastewater treatment systems.

Hi Everyone.  Hope you and your families are all healthy and safe.

We are starting to figure out how we are going to implement the Contractors Commitment at my company, and we're using the opportunity to simultaneously set corporate wide and jobsite metrics and goals for sustainability tracking.

Each year we issue a sustainability... Read more

A site license allows your entire organization to access and share the report, and to keep a copy in your library. The site license does not allow multiple users to earn CEUs. If multiple individuals in your organization would like to earn CEUs from this report, please ... Read more

Hi there colleagues!

Out of curiosity, do you plan on attending Greenbuild in person in San Diego in September? My staff asked me if we were going and my answer is partially contingent on the extent to which attending would mean getting to see some of our favorite people (read: all of you). Looking forward to taking the temperature of... Read more

We had these conversations grouped by size of firm. 

Guiding Questions:

Knowledge Management By Firm Size

How to give people the info they need, when they need it?

Is the COTE Top Ten a good framework?

This seems extremely daunting in a large firm. How do we manage content that is produced and shared... Read more