Hello Green Gurus,

Back at the retreat in March 2021 (does anyone remember back that far?), we formed an Air Quality Working Group with members from SDL, SMEPL, and SCL. Drawing on our collective experience, standards, research, and other resources, we began navigating the murkiness of indoor air quality considerations. We came up with a... Read more

For those of you that attended Greenbuild this year you may have heard about the Legacy project taken on by the USGBCMA Chapter. The winning project was The Green Building Tech Club at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School. The USGBCMA Chapter recently reached out to me and asked if Structure Tone would take on an intern this summer,... Read more

I'm teaching a LEED GA study group and was rambling on the differences between CIR and precident-setting LEED Interpretation (that gets posted in the addenda library and all). Then I went onto LEED Online and was showing how those are submitted... but can't actually figure out how a LEED Interpretation would be submitted. Has anyone done this... Read more

tate 

A draft of AIA’s Top Ten Toolkit was just published!

http://bit.ly/COTEtoolkit

Hopefully useful for everyone toward making more very high performance buildings. More updates to come, including interactive tools like a superspreadsheet. 

All the best,

Tate

Team,

Many of you saw the BlackRock letter.

https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter

Should we hold our consultants and suppliers accountable for climate change?

Best,
LL

Sometimes referred to as “the dark side”, the construction industry isn’t actually so bad.  We are mostly good people.  And, we need good people. 

Consigli is hiring a Sustainability Manager to work in Massachusetts, and we could use your help to fill the role.  If you or someone you know is brimming with the sustainability force, please... Read more

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:


Hi Green Gurus: check out this new series from AIAU that delves into the design and planning application of the 4th National Climate Assessment Report by region with some more recent updates. Free to members...looks like some great speakers and highly relevant. 

https://aiau.aia.org/regional-tour-climate-risk-planning-and-design

... Read more

The BuildingGreen Guide to Thermal Insulation provides detailed guidance on insulation products and practices, including recommendations on what insulation to use and what to avoid. It's a treasure trove of information for architects and designers, builders, and anyone who is actively considering the impact of insulation on the quality of your... Read more

Hi all --

We have a national restaurant client who is looking to source furniture (indoor and outdoor) with a minimum of 40% recycled/salvaged content from a woman- and/or minority-owned company.  They have a strong preference for a company that partners with/participates in community outreach and/or mentoring programs.  They also have ... Read more

Hi - we're working with the University of California Office of the President to put together low-carbon case studies. The two types we are looking for now include 1) a low-carbon TI (not a full building gut/renovation), and 2) any that involve the circular economy (in this case not just building reuse but product reuse) which could include... Read more

Hi all,

We recently learned that Mass Dept of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) along with a few other state agencies are looking to offer grants for wastewater heat recovery implemented into projects. This is a newer technology that puts a heat exchanger or heat pump in the wastewater system that then extracts the heat energy and... Read more

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

Hi all - Reflecting on the COTE Top Ten Awards and Lloyd Alter's recent article  https://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/keep-aiacotes-its-time-scrap-aia-awards.html, I am curious how many local/state AIA awards programs have incorporated sustainability reporting metrics as a requirement for all awards submissions, not just for categories... Read more

Producing a ton of cement releases approximately a ton of CO2 into the atmosphere, but accessories like finishes and additives can also be major sources of VOCs, soil contamination, and human health risks.

BuildingGreen-Approved Concrete Accessories

BuildingGreen approves the following concrete accessories:

Hi everyone,

We're hoping to do some building monitoring as part of Building Use Evaluations on our built work, starting with projects in East Africa, to ensure they are performing as intended and to keep supporting our partners. Ultimately we want to be able to log light, noise, temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration. This does not... Read more

Friends,

This is a personal note. My son was just diagnosed with Asthma. I’m started to wonder if it’s just coincidence that this corresponded with him starting kindergarten in a school where they clean with Chlorine bleach. I found substitutes for his small preschool and at home.  My understanding is that there’... Read more