Hello SMEPers,

I’m hoping to crowd source some anecdotes for a guest lecture I’ll be giving at Yale’s architecture school. The topic is integrated design (especially between architects and engineers) and how it enables better sustainability outcomes.

John Boecker has this great story about how choosing a paint color with higher... Read more

Hey Team,

I'm in a Living Future session where a number of manufacturers are talking about the low uptake they're seeing in their take back programs. Contractor friends... What barriers (if any) are you running into in using take back programs? How might we as architects help increase utilization of these programs?

Aley

Does anyone have install experience with Duracryl yet? I'm looking at it for a large project in place of Marmoleum. We've had multiple instances of install failures with Marmoleum, which leads to lots of finger pointing. 

Welcome to the quiz portion of LEED 2012 Second Public Comment Period Opens.

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


 

1. Recognize the emphasis on making language more cleanly worded (while maintaining overall intent and requirements) and the focus on dividing sections by topic... Read more

My colleague, Kira Gould, from the AIA National COTE communications committee, has a great question I am reposting here...

AIA National COTE: In the early 00s, COTE supported an initiative through which we created a Guide to the Green RFP and collected sample RFP language. That now dated guide is no longer findable in our resources and... Read more

Hello Sustainable Design Leaders!

Here at BuildingGreen we are excited and looking forward to creating a valuable and engaging online summit with you all for 2020!

You can Register HERE as well as review important information.

The Summit will happen throughout the week of July 13. The specific meeting times are: 

3:... Read more

Now that Ben has set up access restrictions, we have to decide what message to put on "paywall" screens. For example, on the Best Practices pages, the "Official language" tab is fully accessible, but if an anonymous user clicks on any of the other tabs they'll hit a login wall:

https://live-bituser.pantheonsite.io/best-practice/energy-... Read more

Hi everyone, 

The winning date for our Waste Management call is 3/24/2020 from 12pm-1pm PST.

Here is a link to the Google hangouts meet as well as a call in number for those without gmail accounts:

meet.google.com/cae-gdxd-qpp

(‪US‬)‪+1 240-224-0800‬

PIN: ‪996 308#‬

I am working on putting together an... Read more

Built Environment Plus (was USGBC MA- aka Meredith Elbaum's band) has organized this awesome sustainability scavenger hunt.

It's fun. It's easy. Anyone can participate from anywhere - it's all app based, and it's a great way to get energized for Earth Day or week! And it's for a good cause, a fundraiser for supportive organization. Have... Read more

This summit was pre-approved for 10 AIA HSW LUs and 10 GBCI CE hours.

Please complete the survey question to confirm your attendance and receive your CEUs.

By providing your credential numbers in your profile, you will enable us to automatically report these CEUs to the organization. Please first check your profile to be sure your... Read more

We are trying to figure out how we are going to meet the LEED Credit for Building Life Cycle Impact Reduction for the first time.

One approach we're trying out: We're taking the results of our Tally model and looking at potential reductions from low-carbon concrete. However, the problem I am encountering is that when I take some of our... Read more

I'm the Director of Sustainability at Columbia Construction.  We're headquartered in the Boston area and primarily work in the Northeast.  Along with the typical challenges of projects and evolving rating systems, I'm looking forward to learning and sharing strategies for corporate sustainability progress.

This past year I'm proud to... Read more

Replacing windows is expensive and comes with high impacts, but simple films can improve performance.

BuildingGreen-Approved Films

BuildingGreen approves three types of window films:

surface-applied films that have earned NFRC ratings and have a minimum 10-year warranty seasonal flexible-film kits bird-safety films

Energy... Read more

This webinar occurred – Wednesday, October 28, 2020 2:00 – 3:00pm ET (11:00am – 12:00pm PT)

Are you getting questions, advice, and dubious sales pitches from all comers about how to design and run an HVAC system to combat infectious disease? You’re not alone. Engineers, facility managers, architects, and other building professionals are all... Read more

Hello SD Leaders!

I recently joined and looking forward to all the amazing dialog. I was told that for membership to be official, I must reveal my unsustainable secret. As much as I preach environmental protection in architecture, I’m a bit of a motorhead with a 1967 HP 289 Mustang that I resurrected from a junk yard when I was 16 — that... Read more

This is sort of dragging up an ancient topic, but curious how your firms are currently addressing accreditation (LEED AP, WELL AP, LFA, etc.). There was a time when we were all talking about this, and a number of firms instituted requirements, but it has been a long time, and I'm curious how it's looking now in 2024. Thanks! 

Ace Brockwell

I looked through the forums and was surprised to see that from what I can tell this 2018 article from Yale I'm going to share here has not been discussed previously.  It basically says that FSC is not trustworthy, ineffective, and greenwashed, as critiqued by the likes of Greenpeace and others.

I would like to hear from someone in the... Read more