Product Review
The company's promotional material is the epitome of environmentally friendly packaging—like a Ben & Jerry's annual report. The article reprints sent were even bound in a jacket made from corrugated cardboard. So we were quite intrigued by the product. Syndecrete™ is a lightweight, pre-cast,... Read more
News Brief
At first glance,
An Environmental Handbook for Florida Contractors looks like it deals only with the environmental regulations that Florida contractors must contend with. And, indeed, the Handbook describes in detail the requirements for complying with regulations at the federal, state, and local levels. But the book goes much further,... Read more
Explainer
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
Feature
Ozone depletion and global warming are two of our most serious environmental problems—and foam insulation materials containing CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) contribute significantly to both of these problems. The environmentally concerned builder or designer should make it a highest priority to avoid them. Even many of the non-CFC alternatives... Read more
Feature
Susan Maxman is the first AIA president to make sustainable design a priority.
Q.Where would you say architects as a group stand on environmental issues?
A.Architects tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is important that we take the lead on these environmental issues. The architecture schools in particular tend to be conservative. They just aren’t... 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
Forum topic
Folks -anyone know if the 179D Commercial Buildings Energy Efficiency Tax Credit will be renewed for this year? The DOE website only references renewal on Jan 1, 2017... I am not holding my breath, but curious if anyone else has heard one way or the other. Thanks!
Author
Andrea first became familiar with BuildingGreen in 2010 when she and her husband moved to Vermont and built their own passive house from the ground up. BuildingGreen’s president Nadav Malin heard about the project and asked if the staff could take a tour, and the rest is history. She joined the BuildingGreen team part-time in 2011 to work on... Read more
Forum topic
Greetings Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH) advocates!
We have an opportunity to advocate to the US DOE on behalf of HPWHs!
Geoff Wickes is an emerging technology product manager for NEEA (Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance) currently focused entirely on HPWH technology, policy, and market adoption (and in full disclosure: also a... Read more
Forum topic
Hello -
We're hiring two interns this summer. One position is in Urban Design & Planning, the other is an architectural position split roughly equally between our Housing Studio and our Sustainability Resources Group. If you know of potential candidates who might be interested, please forward this link. http://www.seradesign.com/... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Exterior Paints: Long-Term Protection and Environmental Tradeoffs.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. List the primary differences between alkyd and latex paints and stains and between wood, concrete, and metal primers.
2. Explain... Read more
Forum topic
Hi folks,
Oregon’s ZERO Coalition is looking for responses to the question below on local policy for electrification, and I thought tapping this group would be helpful.
Are you aware of any local governments outside of Oregon that are promoting or enforcing electrification?
Berkley, CA is one example that as of Jan 1, 2020... Read moreForum topic
Hello SCL,
If you didn't attend last week's SCL Summit, then I'll sum up one of the major takeaways: SCL members NEED TO COMMENT ON LEEDV5. The stakes are high, particularly around waste.
Luckily, Amanda Kaminsky is making it easy for us. She has drafted a sample comment based on our discussion at the Summit.
If you have... Read more
Forum topic
Does anyone know of a source for finding the operational solid waste generated by typical building/use types (weight/sf)? I couldn't find anything on LEED, True, or EPA. I found this table but isn't by sq ft for many of hte uses. Waste Generated by Industry and Building Type (wastecare.com)
Product Guide
CEUs are available for reading all the building-envelope product guides and primer. Click here to learn more and take the quiz.
Conventional excavation practices can harm ecosystems, while improper foundation and slab drainage can allow water to build up and compromise the structure and integrity of the building.
BuildingGreen-... Read more
Forum topic
Hello everyone,
I'm Jen, the administrative assistant for Peer Networks here at BuildingGreen. I haven’t been too involved with the SAL network yet, but I’m looking forward to getting to know you better!
There has been some interest in convening the Sustainable Advising Leaders to determine the shared purpose that will motivate us... Read more
Forum topic
Hey, all. Two questions:
-How do we communicate to you LEED User content that needs to be pulled through to BIT-user pages? Are you all going to assess each BP page for potential articles/topics that will be linked?
-Regarding the forums- is there a way to notify program staff when a forum has an unanswered question? Hoping to... Read more

