Hi Everyone!

Does anyone have a good resource for whole-building embodied carbon benchmarks broken down by building use and building category (structure, foundation, envelope, interior)?

I know of CLF’s 2017 Benchmark Study (great resource!) and the One-Click LCA study on European Buildings but are there any others?  I know many... Read more

Exterior doors often have poor insulation and seals that allow air through.

BuildingGreen-Approved Exterior Doors

BuildingGreen has different criteria for commercial and residential exterior doors.

Commercial swing (hinged) doors must be NFRC-rated, certified, and labeled for U-factor. They have a maximum air leakage of 0.... Read more

Has anyone worked on a WELL project? I have heard that you can expect about 1.5 to twice the effort of LEED coordination but wasn't sure how accurate that was. Any suggestions for determining the possible time commitment of WELL coordination?

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

This is not my area of expertise but our contactor has suggested central heat pump hot water (CHPHW) is $1m more expensive than gas fired domestic hot water for a 150 unit multi-family residential building in Massachusetts. The Building Decarbonization Practice Guide is extremely helpful but, from their comments, it is all coming... Read more

Hi all, hope you're keeping safe and healthy. I'm thinking about protocols to put in place on jobsites related to COVID-19 in addition to our IAQ plans. Wondering if anyone's company has started to layout specific protocols, PPE, etc. and is willing to share.

What got me thinking was this article from Prof. Joe Allen at Harvard about... Read more

Team,

As you all probably saw, Boston is discussing using both CEI (carbon emission intensity) and EUI as basic scope of work.  Maybe the more surprising thing is China announced a new building code next year to include carbon emission analysis as a basic scope of work for all buildings.   New buildings in 2022, among other things,... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Deep Material Vetting (That Won't Chew Through Your Design Budget).

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


1. Align product vetting with goals that aim to mitigate occupant exposure and environmental toxicity.
2. Foster partnerships with... Read more

This message came in earlier today and is something of which we should all be aware.  I took the extra step, in this world of uncertain facts, of checking the veracity of the message with Jason Grant who confirmed it.  From William Bucholtz:

Dear Green Building Colleagues,

No one likes being fooled, but it’s... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

I am starting some research on municipal incentives offered to developers seeking to achieve sustainability targets and am wondering what you may have come across in your work, including but not limited to achieving Passive House. In my limited research, here are few I have come across to get us started:

In the Passive House session at the Winter Summit, I spoke about a Massachusetts DOER report that found that meeting the new energy code in MA (passive house or better in most cases) is cheaper for some building types than traditional construction. Some of you asked to see the report. It was a power point show. On page 34 of this slide deck... Read more

Has anyone done any museums in which they hired an independent QA/QC specialist? Or perhaps, your firm offers QA/QC services and experise in this area? If so, could you please reach out to me? I'm wondering what firm you used and what your experience was. Was it worth the fee?

Amal June Polt

Welcome to the quiz portion of Downscaled Climate Data: Where to Get It and How to Use It.

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


1.  Define “downscaled climate data” and understand where to find it and how to apply it in modeling to achieve greater environmental sustainability and... Read more

We just wrapped up an awesome Winter Summit at Gulf State Park in Alabama. I'll be posting flip chart pages and notes here--we can use this forum to continue the conversations. 

Apologies for the flurry of emails, but it seems best to start separate threads for each topic. If you'd rather limit the flow, you can switch to daily digest... Read more

I'm curious if anyone can share their strategy on indoor air quality for the return to office. Is this something that is prioritized at your firm from a wellbeing standpoint and with the current health crisis at hand? Lendlease is looking into options to safeguard our employees/occupants as we move back into the workplace and I'm researching... Read more