Feature
Carefully stake the building site and driveway, remove trees that are within the excavation area or too close, then erect a fence to keep heavy equipment off fragile soils and away from nearby trees.
Protecting trees and the local ecosystem when building on previously unbuilt land is a vitally important—yet often overlooked—part of environmentally responsible construction. Healthy trees and shrubs can reduce a home’s environmental impact and directly benefit homeowners in a number of ways:
•Enhancing comfort by shielding the house... Read more
Op-Ed
Introducing the first issue of our newsletter.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more
News Brief
The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental... Read more
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.
This one-hour crash course will review the concepts and key facts within the WELL Building... Read more
Forum topic
Hey all,
Question for those of you who do in-house daylight analysis about modeling translucent glazing.
We use ClimateStudio for our modeling. It has plenty of material options for clear glazing but nothing for translucent glazing, and we are trying to understand the impacts of a translucent interlayer at some skylights. We can... Read more
Forum topic
is anyone aware of some guidance about citation protocols for when a person/team/org uses an AI tool to generate some base components for a report (which is then heavily edited by humans)?
I'm inclined to disclose in detail which tools were used and how ... but would love to know if there are some industry protocols shaping up about this... Read more
Forum topic
SDL Show & Tell in Chicago, Tuesday, November 13 from 7-9:30 PM (CST)
HKS | 125 S Clark Street | Chicago, IL 60603
What better way to kick off your time at Greenbuild than with snap previews of the best sessions? The Sustainable Design Leaders Show & Tell is back, brought to you by BuildingGreen and HKS! This event is by... Read more
Forum topic
Hi All,
As you know from the SCL Summit last year, I have been organizing a task group to create a draft of our SCL Contractor Commitment. We have come up with a short Tiered commitment draft as well as some best practices and challenges that led us to the commitment. I encourage everyone to take a look at the draft and please send any... Read more
Product Guide
CEUs are available for reading our entire plumbing guide. Click here to learn more and take the quiz.
Excess heat generated by air conditioners, refrigerators, boilers, and water flowing through pipes typically goes unused.
BuildingGreen-Approved Water Heat Exchangers
BuildingGreen lists desuperheating technologies and... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Know Thy Client: 9 Un-Green Strategies for Delivering Better Buildings
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Focus on a client’s values to drive sustainability solutions.
2. Define the quality of the work being delivered to underscore... Read more
Forum topic
I am looking for example specifications for low carbon concrete to have our structural engineer(s) review and incorporate. Does anyone have good examples or link(s) to good examples?
Thanks,
Mark
Author
P.J. is an accomplished writer and speaker who brings passion, humor, and discernment to all her work.
Whether it’s a spotlight report on decarbonization, a webinar on ESG, or just a chummy email bulletin, she is ferociously committed to truth, accuracy, and thoroughly... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Re-Framing Sustainability: Green Structural Engineering.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. List at least three design approaches to green structural engineering.
2. Recognize two issues that would encourage owners to invest in... Read more
Forum topic
I'm happy to let you know that Barbra Batshalom has joined the Green Gurus forum!
Many of you already know her from her Sustainable Performance Institute work, and from the great workshop she and her husband Moshe Cohen led before our Boston Summit, but she is also serving a consulting SD Leader for several firms. I'll let her say more... Read more
Forum topic
Seeing Jen's post prompted me to write in support of the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School program (Greenbuild Legacy Project). I spoke to the students earlier in the year and it is a great program. I'll reach out to our HR about interns.
I am the Director of Facilities Management Integration and Sustainability for Shawmut... Read more
Forum topic
Hey team,
We're working with some institutions in the midwest that are trying to understand what kind of partnerships they could build with architectural salvage enterprises as they demolish many buildings to elevate land uses. I'm not overly familiar with the midwest market. Does anyone have any good circular economy / architectural... Read more
Forum topic
Dear fellow SCL'ers,
Recently one of our members, Ryan Poole, sustainability leader at DPR, has been facing some personal challenges. His wife is 35 weeks pregnant and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. They have moved across country - from Colorado to South Carolina - to be closer to thier parents and their support system, but they can... Read more
Forum topic
Huge shout out to Patty Lloyd, Luke Leung, Janet Olsen, and Sarah Gudeman for their webinar on the Power of Peer Networks. They share lots of insights into the value of participating in BG Peer Networks and many others. Ten bucks to Illinois Green gets you access to the recording--I loved it. What would you have said that they didn't?
Forum topic
Question for you all: there is this wonderful graph showing how we can shift mechanical and electrical dollars into envelope investments to make deep energy savings cost-neutral. Have you experienced this on a project?
1-minute or less survey! (two questions, more detail if you want)
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/... Read more
