Join Brent & Alex to learn what's new and what's been updated in our BuildingGreen Guide to Thermal Insulation, Fourth Edition, including what you should know about:

So much has changed so quickly!

Our 30-minute roundtable... Read more

Welcome! We are updating our popular WELL Study Guide and Practice Exams to reflect IWBI's new WELL v2 exam, and expect the new materials to be available for you by mid JUNE 2022. Please watch your email for the announcement and check back!

The v2 version is a substantial change from... Read more

Hi all,

Thanks again to those who presented at the AIA Show & Tell! Here are the slides for some of the fascinating presentations we saw. Please do not share the slides outside of the networks unless they are marked “PUBLIC.”

There may be more to come; if you presented but did not yet provide permission for your slides to be... Read more

I'm working with a project team that is looking into bird control options to prevent nesting/roosting/pooping on the scrim that is designed to scrim their building's facade.  They are looking at electrified tape, repellents, laser systems, etc -- Options that don't dramatically impact the building design.  The products they're looking at claim... Read more

Hello! 

We have several projects that are either pending ILFI Zero Carbon certification or the owner is planning to purchase offsets to cover construction emissions. Thus far, I have not considered this in our corporate footprint reporting. However, we are including A5 emissions whenever feasible and multiplying that performance over the... Read more

Hello all,

I need future weather files for a project. We are looking at three years, 2050, 2075, and 2095 using two climate change scenarios, low emissions, and high emissions. I have seen ARUP's Weathershift site that uses RCP 8.5 and RCP 4.5. Are we assuming that 2.6 is not achievable? I would have used this as a low emissions scenario... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of The BuildingGreen Guide to Insulation!

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


1. Discuss how insulation works to increase the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability of buildings; 
2. Explain why certain materials make more sense than... Read more

Hi all,

We have a project in New Orleans that needs to meet the GSA Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) requirements and submit EPDs. For our concrete, there is only one manufacturer that meets the requirements and is more than 50 miles away (according to EC3). Does anyone have tips on attempting to talk to local concrete manufacturers about... Read more

Hi All,

My team member is leaving Webcor, and unfortunately that means we have to fill her big shoes with someone new! I thought I'd reachout here and see if you know anyone of high caliber looking for a Sustainability Manager position? Someone with LEED PM experience preferred, and a bit more technical background with MEP/ZNE ideally... Read more

Love the profile of Anica as the "featured member" on AIA's website--congratulations, Anica!

It's great to see the "just do it" attitude to achieving the 2030 goals: "We do not rely on clients to tell us to design a high-performance building; we are going to do it anyway, it's our job."

Folks, it is with a heavy heart that I write this: Lance Hosey passed away unexpectedly on Friday. 

Many of you know him from the early days of the SDL group, or as an outsized presence at any of the many conferences where we overlap. He's been a list-maker, poll-taker and all around troublemaker in my life for over 20 years; I know I am... Read more

Hi all,

As you know, the Carbon Leadership Forum has been busy in recent years growing the tent of discipline-based commitments for reducing embodied carbon. SE 2050 and MEP 2040 provide the platform and commitment for structural and MEP respectively, and there is now interest brewing for an additional commitment in support of civil... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Retrocommissioning: Big Savings for Big Buildings.

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


1. Define the term retrocommissioning.
2. Explain how whole-systems RCx differs from energy-focused RCx.
3. Describe several examples of how... Read more

We are excited to share the REPORT from the 2019 Small Firm SDL Summit held in Las Vegas on June 5th. Take a look and use this forum to post questions and comments that will allow us to engage our new members as we continue the valuable conversations begun at the Summit. As you will read in the introduction, we know that collectively small... Read more

The Water Sub-Group met today. This group is working on three items: 

1. Project Water Plan Template

2. Project Water Tracking Form Template

3. Research and Resources Document

The Meeting minutes are attached. The next meeting is 5/19/20 @ 2:30 PM CST, via webex and teleconference.  Please contact me if you would... Read more