Hi All,

I'm teaching a class this semester at CU Boulder on Zero Carbon Buildings and Cities (a new class that I'm making up as I go). The hardest part, I'm finding, is locating some good materials that cover the basics of energy efficiency for non-building engineers or designers (we are energy and sustainability generalists in this... Read more

Hello,

I will be in NYC for Regenerative Metropolis event at the end of Climate Week NYC. Is anyone else going to Climate Week? Did any events seem particularly worth attending? I've not been before but the only thing I've signed up to is the Nature-Inspired Solutions for a Sustainable Future on Wednesday night at COOKFOX.

Hi all,

I am working on a Div 01 sustainability spec section for our firm to include by default on all projects. I've been finding a lot of great sample language out there for embodied carbon measures and material transparency (huge thanks to anyone here who had a part in developing those resources). 

One thing I'd like to include... Read more

Greetings to the Green Commons!

Those of you who attended Greenbuild may remember that during one of the keynotes, Ali Zaidi - White House National Climate Advisor, announced that the White House was developing a definition for "Zero Emissions Buildings" (here’s a [LINK] to a related Washington Post article). The draft language for the... Read more

I read a very misleading article on the AIA's website today regarding antimicrobials and the benefit of microbicidals in paint. It was written by a manufacturer, not a healthcare professional, and was not obviously labeled as sponsored content on the website. (I received the link in an email, which did label it as such).

https://www.aia.... Read more

Hi all,

Here's a good follow up to Maria's steel question on Monday.  We have a Midwest project that unfortunately (from a carbon perspective) is required to use a traditional, thick precast facade.  We’re working with the contractor and potential future (not yet bid out) fabricators to determine an appropriate % of pozzolanic material... Read more

Thought I'd share this interesting research about something I hadn't considered as another pandemic impact - the use of video in Zoom etc calls vs. audio only. Maybe an excuse to keep your camera off some of the time?

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210114134033.htm

MAL

The Getting to Zero Forum is happening next week in Minneapolis, Minnesota (my home state!). Anyone else from this group planning to attend in person? I'm especially curious as the Forum comes so quickly on the heals of the Living Future Conference.

As a proud Minnesotan, I have a hard time imagining how anyone could ignore an... Read more

Curious what people's 'best' experiences or recommendations are for load calculations and energy modeling regarding electrochromic glazing... hoping I can lean on others as it's just now becoming more of a talking point in our market here in Omaha. 

Specific questions including whether load and energy modeling software are separate (... Read more

Hello all,

Thank you so much for your work on the Contractor Commitment. In preparation for the Summit, we've pulled all of the sections together into one cohesive document. We would like to invite everyone in the SCL network to review and comment on this latest draft so that we can compile comments before Wednesday and make the most of... Read more

I'm working on the Best Practice pages, and I want to verify the role of "BITuser experts" (analogous to LEEDuser experts, as shown on this credit page). My questions:

Note that the role of the expert,... Read more

Hi SD Leaders, my firm wants to make a case for conducting LCAs on all major projects. I'm curious what your experience is - how long does it take to conduct an LCA (for the analyst's effort and other project team members who attend meetings about the LCA and use its results), and the type of LCA software you're using. 

I feel sure you'... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of How to Succeed with the Living Building Challenge: 12 Teams Share Tips.

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


1. Prepare for LBC imperatives.
2. Structure an LBC process around absolute goals, with proactive leadership and follow-through... Read more

Has anyone here had success in comparing life cycle impacts for different window system options? We have been trying to compare different options but have only been able to source one expired EPD for an actual window (frame + glazing). Is the typical approach to separately compare glass and framing options? Are we missing something or is there... Read more