Columbia already offers access to free EV charging for our field employees. Of the few projects that have have opted in so far, we've had to custom design and intall EV charging setups. It's good that we're doing this, but it won't scale quickly enough and cost effectively.  I think a practical next step is working with trailer companies so... Read more

Good Morning;

I wanted to share a resource that everybody might not be aware of - HomeFree by the Healthy Building Network which can be found here:  https://homefree.healthybuilding.net/products

Most of us know that HBN exists, but i think many folks just think HBN = Pharos, which is an extensive database behind a paywall that can... Read more

THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.

The new “Contractor’s Commitment to Sustainable Building Practices" calls on firms to practice green building on the jobsite and beyond. But what has really been accomplished during the program's... Read more

I just saw this post from Conor on LinkedIn.

Starting in January 2019, all new Columbia Construction Company projects require LED temp lighting.

Are others doing this too? Frankly, given all the benefits and how quickly the industry is matured, it's hard for me to understand why anyone would use anything other than LEDs on a job.... Read more

Hi all,

As discussed in our monthly meetings, we are assembling an industry push to expand the availability of embodied carbon data for MEP equipment. Our first steps are to send a letter to industry announcing a call to action and future educational webinars on the topic. In a similar manner as the electrification letter by the SMEP... Read more

I wanted to alert you to this opportunity to help develop a new ASHRAE Standard. They are especially looking for people who have not served with ASHRAE previously (aka the usual suspects)

ASHRAE Standard 242P, Standard Method for Calculation of Building Operational Greenhouse Gas Emissions

1 Purpose: This standard provides a... Read more

I am putting together a presentation for our local AIA conference specifically about shading devices / dynamic glazing / dynamic shading and wonder whether any of you have experience / feedback from projects that used a dynamic system - exterior operable shading or dynamic glazing (like View, Sage).  Any post-construction / post occupancy... Read more

I'm hoping someone knows the anser to this question. For the LEED ND certification the minimum requirement is "The LEED project should contain at least two habitable buildings and be no larger than 1500 acres." Does habitable mean buildings with dwelling units?

Greetings Gurus, following the AIA COTE Design for Economy concept, does anyone have a resource for a list of building efficiency ratio "targets" by space type? I've always struggled with this initiative. 

Hello All,

A group of us (three architects and a builder- sounds like there should be a joke here) were debating this and we  are stumped.

Application: Residential exterior trim.

50 year warrantied composite product of agricultural byproduct with PVC (EPD not published yet) vs 100 year (if primed on all sides and painted or... Read more

Hi all!

A couple years ago now there was an incredible thread here about circadian lighting design and WELL. There was a lot of dipping toes in the water with intent to gather lessons learned and report back.

What have been the high points and low points of circadian lighting design so far? What seems cost-effective and worth... Read more

With the increasing need to support design with techncial expertise, I am curious to hear how others are meeting this challenge.  Do you build energy models in-house?  Do you have a team of experts whose sole responsibility is to support design teams with tasks such as energy modeling and LCA, or is that expertise distributed throughout the... Read more

Hello Sustainability Leaders,

Great to see some of you at Greenbuild last week.  Thanks to all who responded to Nadav’s post-election blues post.  Lots of helpful insights and sentiments that left me very grateful to be part of this community.  On a related note, since the election I’ve been asked by people in our office and in life if... Read more

Textiles have some of the worst environmental records of any product found in our buildings. Textile production uses a number of hazardous chemicals and pollutes water; and its environmental impacts often affect our most vulnerable populations.

BuildingGreen favors textiles made using fibers and manufacturing processes that have low... Read more

Poppy Gasbag

Welcome to the quiz portion of Can Commercial Kitchens Go Electric?

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


Understand why building electrification can be better for the environment and human health than use of fossil fuels, including natural gas.

List eight reasons... Read more