I am the Moderator of the 2023 Strategic Council and the call for nominations for the 2024-2026 Strategic Council at-large representatives has just been released.  I would encourage any interested parties to apply for this position.

The Strategic Council’s purpose is to develop ideas to inform future needs and opportunities for the... Read more

Hi all, has anyone come across a comprehensive (and recent) study looking at how long buildings actually last (beyond Stewart Brand)? I know of plenty that look at the benefits of reuse, but none that look at existing building stock and how much has been reused vs. demolished. 

As we start looking at embodied carbon metrics, I can't help... Read more

Auto-quiz used for CEUs for attendees of the 2023 SCL Fall Summit.

Welcome to the quiz portion of LEED v4 Tips from Early Adopters: Earn High Ratings Without Added Costs.

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


1. Explain how the Integrative Process credit rewards good design but is tricky for taxpayer-funded projects.
2. Describe how... Read more

Seeking a dashboard system that will take energy use data from individual (college student) apartments to display in the lobby. Something where the display is both educational, easy to understand, and that could inspire a little friendly competition. Welcome any recommendations you have installed on projects or have seen that would be cool to... Read more

Rotary Uninterruptible Power Units

Power interruptions and brief changes in voltage can damage electrical equipment, compromise computer data, shut down manufacturing, and endanger hospital patients. In the case of power outages, generators usually take over, but about 98% of all interruptions last less than ten seconds, and there is a... Read more

Hi everyone,
The city of Portland recently expanded acceptable certifications for affordable housing projects they provide funding for to include Enterprise Green Communities Certification. Other options are LEED (flavor depends on project size) and Earth Advantage Multifamily, which is a regionally owned and operated certification. This... Read more

Does anyone up here do or have familiarity with anyone who regularly does NEPA EIS? If you need a definition for the acronym, please see here: https://www.epa.gov/nepa/national-environmental-policy-act-review-process#EIS. I've been asked if I know anything about it, to which the answer is no, but I'd like to get smarter about it and I'm hoping... Read more

consider supporting Varun Kohli for AIA Board At-Large seat

If you are a voting delegate for the AIA, please consider casting a vote for my friend and COTE colleague, Varun Kohli, FAIA; he's running for the At-Large seat on the AIA national Board of Directors.

Varun is a former COTE Leadership Group member and he understands... Read more

Have any of you relied on Green Badger for LEED documentation on projects?

I am familiar with the tool and know Tommy from my time in Atlanta, but have not used it on a construction project.

Have you found value? Thoughts?

Either way, they publish a pretty nifty "LEED v4 Construction Tool Kit" that may be useful for your... Read more

Following up on one of our conversations on the vision vacuum and sustainability beyond certifications, I would like to help facilitate an offline conversation with anyone working within their firm to use the AIA COTE measures as a guiding framework in their firms/projects. Attached are my slides on my first pass at thinking about this at Page... Read more

Hi SD Leaders,

As you may be aware, this past April a group of manufacturers calling themselves the Living Product 50 responded to the letters that many of us sent about five years ago advocating for transparency in their product ingredients.  A copy of that letter can be reviewed about midway through the page at this link:  https://... Read more

Congrats, Kjell, on your elevation into the AIA College of Fellows! Much deserved!

Who all is implement 360-degree reviews as part of their employee review process?  Lake|Flato is thinking of implementing this and would like to talk to a few other firms who have experience they would be willing to share.  Please contact me if you'd be up for a short email discussion or phone call to discuss.  hholdridge@lakeflato.com

... Read more

Join your peers and BuildingGreen February 22–26, 2021 for an all you can eat buffet week of networking, problem solving, and connecting with sustainability leaders within your industry and across the Peer Networks! During this week we will create a space for you to offer and receive support, exchange ideas and resources, and become stronger,... Read more

Hi everyone,

I’d like to invite you to join this Friday’s webinar hosted by the Embodied Carbon Network: Using Whole Building LCA to Reduce Embodied Carbon within LEED and Beyond, and to follow up with a tool that I presented at this summer’s Architecture SDL summit, which ZGF has now upgraded and made free to the industry at large.... Read more

Hi everyone,

Just a reminder that the first-ever Sages monthly call is happening tomorrow, February 13th, at 12pm ET! We'll be introducing ourselves to each other and discussing our visions for the network. 

Here is the agenda for the meeting, and below is the Zoom info: 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/... Read more