If anyone else has gotten confused going between parts-per-million and percentages (parts per hundred!) for material reporting here's a little infographic that might help. Feel free to use or improve! 

Conventional asphalt and concrete contribute to excessive stormwater runoff and pollution.

BuildingGreen-Approved Pavements and Pavers

We look for products that improve on the environmental characteristics of asphalt as well as permeable alternatives to concrete. These include:

Hi Everyone, 

Has anyone had success in finding organizations or programs that will recycle the hard hats? We are looking into options for recycling our expired hard hats that can no longer be used. Ideally, we would want to use a company with facilities across the country but we are open to any suggestions or ideas you all may have.... Read more

Blast from the past when 179D first hit the scenes.

Are any of you still using this and if so, has it been easy, successful, worthwhile etc

and Happy New Year !

All,

I've probably spoken to a few of you over the phone, but I wanted to make sure all of you know that we are hosting a 4 part webinar series on our Tally LCA software, kicking off tomorrow 10/10. We just released the new of Tally version and ended up doing far more development work than initially anticipated, in no small part due to... Read more

Hi SD Leader: Please review, consider or pass along this terrific new position leading the Sustainability strategic direction at the Washington University School of Medicine. WashU has an ambitious sustainability leader role regionally and across the nation and the School of Medicine (highly ranked nationally) plays a big role in that. The job... Read more

Welcome to the Sages forum! Some of us have been hanging out together for ages, but others might be new to this group (if not to sustainable design/construction). So let’s start by introducing ourselves, with some highlights from our career and history with the Peer Networks, and why we’ve now joined this one.

My career history is pretty... Read more

Dear all,

Greetings. I'm presenting virtually to an audience of architecture and engineering faculty in India on the topic 'Introduction to Climate Change and Adaptive Architecture.' What is expected of the presentation is a broad overview of how climate change affects the built environment, challenges faced and some coping mechanisms. I... Read more

Hi folks,

I know the last thing we all need is another assignment, but I took a look at this survey and it really should be pretty quick. And we've been talking a lot about how we can be better advocates for the things we care about...maybe this is a chance to do that? 

From an email request: 

I am writing on behalf of an... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

Here is the information for February's Peer Networks Webinar, A Tale of Two Working Groups: Decarbonizing Existing Buildings & Defining and Measuring Resilient Outcomes. We hope you will join us!

Register HERE

A Tale of Two Working Groups: Decarbonizing Existing Buildings & Defining and Measuring... Read more

Hey y'all,

Since it's now past September 8 when reporting was due, I'm thinking all those that were going to report as part of this round have now done so. I know AIA will assemble an industry-wide report, but I'm also very interested in the less polished conversation that allows all of us to trade experiences and just see how this went... Read more

What thoughts do you have? What have others said that you feel we want to capture?

The Vision Vacuum: What’s driving environmental and social progress in architecture today? What should be driving it, and where should we be going?

Hi Everyone!

I am now in my last week in the Bay Area, and in my last three weeks at (my first 15 years at) SERA, as I will be leaving on my extended sabbatical at the end of April!

I will miss following this group's dialogue, and will especially miss attending the summits for the next couple of years! 

My colleagues Mark... Read more

Green Gurus -

I’m honored to be co-chairing, along with Caryn Brause FAIA, the ACSA/AIA Intersections Research conference at UMass Amherst October 2023.   The theme, "Material Economies," was developed with an eye for inclusivity for academics and practitioners alike, addressing critical emerging issues around architectural material... Read more

Here are some EDI resources from our internal discussions about EDI. Please don't share them with any identifying information outside this group as they do not reflect our official policies, yet. The Social Justice Research Presentation shows some of the research we have done into Just., B Corps, Benefit Corporations and Global Reporting... Read more

Old windows can be leaky and uncomfortable, but window replacements are expensive and resource-intensive.

BuildingGreen-Approved Interior Window Panels

BuildingGreen approves interior window panels with robust warranties that are designed to achieve improved thermal performance with both reduced... Read more

Nothing exciting like embodied carbon or EPDs... but I'm interested in some real talk on the actual performance of low-flow fixtures.  

We continue to encounter pushback on water-saving fixtures for concerns of ongoing performance. I'd love to have a dialog in this group because I find it hard to believe these challenges can't be... Read more

In the Passive House session at the Winter Summit, I spoke about a Massachusetts DOER report that found that meeting the new energy code in MA (passive house or better in most cases) is cheaper for some building types than traditional construction. Some of you asked to see the report. It was a power point show. On page 34 of this slide deck... Read more