Author
As BuildingGreen’s Products & Materials Specialist, Brent excels at deep, unbiased, and nuanced technical research on the health and environmental impacts of green building products and materials. Some areas of focus include:
product and material constituents, including their risks
product certifications
third-... Read more
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Hello Green Gurus,
Here is the information for this month's first Peer Networks Webinar, Previewing the WELL Equity Rating: a roadmap for advancing DEI. So sorry for the short notice - we had a pileup of tech issues and time off. We hope you can still join us!
Register HERE.
Previewing the WELL Equity Rating: a roadmap for... Read more
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Hi Everyone!
I am building our internal/firm resources around sustainable design, and creating our post-occupancy evaluations is one of those resources. Does anyone have references or resources they'd recommend me to look into for post-occupancy evaluations? So far I am considering a few evalutation types: building user input, building... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Equity in Design and Construction: Seven Case Studies!
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
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Hi All,
USGBC MA is doing a study on the cost of net zero energy buildings in MA. I’m wondering if you all have any data to share on plug loads in ZNE projects. I’m looking for single family res, 2-4 unit residential, +/- 60 unit residential, 10-12 story office, and k-12. The engineers have presented initial results and their... Read more
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I'm advising a nonprofit organization (the Retreat Farm) on whose board I sit that is renovating a large, 8,000 sf, 19th Century barn into a large community meeting space and wedding venue. We are looking for a source of either folding or stacking chairs that are durable, low-maintenance, and environmentally responsible. We may be seeking... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of A Guide to Selecting Sustainable Textiles.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
Recall at least three important considerations for choosing sustainable textiles. Explain the most significant life-cycle impacts of textile manufacturing. Use credible... Read moreBasic page
The Sustainable Design Leaders network and Summit events started over 10 years ago, when a group of sustainable designers realized that the struggles they faced and the goals they strove toward were shared by many... Read more
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Hi folks,
A press release about this just showed up--most of what they're including in their "Clean Construction Declaration" involves reducing embodied carbon in materials, but they're also calling out construction equipment:
"Procure and, when possible, use only zero emission construction machinery from 2025 and require zero... Read more
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Our Sustainable Construction Leaders peer network famously developed the Contractor's Commitment.
Famous because it is the industry's only agreed-upon framework for systematically addressing the environmental and social impacts of construction activity.
Famous because it now has 27 signatories, collectively accounting for $49... Read more
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...for all the folks on the west coast.
It’s smokey out there. For anyone looking for a cheap and relatively effective way to clean your indoor air, here is an article on a DIY box fan filters.
https://www.texairfilters.com/a-variation-on-the-box-fan-with-merv-13-filter-air-cleaner/
This PSA is from our friends at NEEA (... Read more
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Register now for the next two quarterly SCL calls, brought to you by members of the Steering Committee! These calls are just for SCL members, topical for construction leaders, and hold space for us to learn directly from each other. See you there!
Everything You Wanted to Know About EVs, but Were Afraid to Ask
Monday, March 7th at... Read more
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We have an environmentally-minded client who asked us to look into an alternative to the blue adhesive film that is typically used to seal uninstalled ducts for IAQ purposes. From a human health and waste perspective, they were hoping to find something that was both plastic-free and reusable. Has anyone tried out other options? I thought it was... Read more
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Good morning. If you're worried like I am by today's new IPCC Report and would like some helpful explanation I recommend reading climate scientist Zeke Hausfather's lengthy Twitter feed summarizing key aspects with graphics. It's here https://twitter.com/hausfath/status/1424642708291821569?s=21
of course we need to see this as an even... Read more
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Has anyone done a LEED Homes and a NGBS certification and have insight into the differences, challenges, etc between the two?