News Analysis
The City of Austin’s Green Builder Program was one of 12 award recipients in the United National Local Government Honours Programme at the Earth Summit in Rio, and the only winner from the United States. “The purpose of the Honours Programme is to recognize innovative local approaches to... Read more
Product Review
The company's promotional material is the epitome of environmentally friendly packaging—like a Ben & Jerry's annual report. The article reprints sent were even bound in a jacket made from corrugated cardboard. So we were quite intrigued by the product. Syndecrete™ is a lightweight, pre-cast,... Read more
Feature
Ozone depletion and global warming are two of our most serious environmental problems—and foam insulation materials containing CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) contribute significantly to both of these problems. The environmentally concerned builder or designer should make it a highest priority to avoid them. Even many of the non-CFC alternatives... Read more
News Brief
The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental... Read more
Op-Ed
Introducing the first issue of our newsletter.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more
Feature
Susan Maxman is the first AIA president to make sustainable design a priority.
Q.Where would you say architects as a group stand on environmental issues?
A.Architects tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is important that we take the lead on these environmental issues. The architecture schools in particular tend to be conservative. They just aren’t... Read more
Feature
Carefully stake the building site and driveway, remove trees that are within the excavation area or too close, then erect a fence to keep heavy equipment off fragile soils and away from nearby trees.
Protecting trees and the local ecosystem when building on previously unbuilt land is a vitally important—yet often overlooked—part of environmentally responsible construction. Healthy trees and shrubs can reduce a home’s environmental impact and directly benefit homeowners in a number of ways:
•Enhancing comfort by shielding the house... Read more
Forum topic
Hello everyone,
Here's a reminder that our next monthly call will be taking place next Tuesday, September 10th at 2:00pm EST.
Please feel free to join us!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/661110941
Dial by your location
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)... Read more
Forum topic
Hello Sustainable Construction Leaders!
Here at BuildingGreen we are excited and looking forward to creating a valuable and engaging online summit with you all for 2020! In addition to going online, this year we have shifted the dates so that the SCL Summit will occur within weeks of all other Peer Network Summits. This allows us to host... Read more
Forum topic
This may seem a bit in the weeds, but I have typically paid extra at Greenbuild for the access to the materials after the conference - we use that to develop presentations back to the teams who are not able to attend. For many years it was helpful - getting some materials to help folks see what they missed. Last year they went to a new service... Read more
Forum topic
Thought this was worth sharing - Lance Davis, who manages the P100 program for GSA just posted to an email group i belong to that the GSA P100 program is to be updated in 2024. In service to that, there is a "P100 Change Proposal Form" available for folks to make helpful suggestions.
They are asking for suggestions, i think we should... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of The Problem with Net-Zero Buildings (and the Case for Net-Zero Neighborhoods).
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Describe several unintended consequences of focusing on net-zero-energy buildings.
2. List at least three advantages... Read more
Forum topic
My firm is mobilizing for a year of carbon awareness and reduction that goes beyond the energy consumption of our designs. We are looking to hire a full time person to take on LCA tracking for our current projects. Ideally it is a climate crisis super-hero of sorts who could also look at our design process and help develop multi-faceted... Read more
Forum topic
In the wake of pandemic WFH requirements, we are looking to revamp employee policies and I thought this type of information share would be something we Green Gurus would love to thought-share on.
We are a very 'low-policy company' (20 when I joined, now 75 employees currently) and our employee handbook is quite small (5 pages). Most... Read more
Forum topic
Hey there hive mind,
I'm hoping y'all can help me as I coach one of my colleagues along his path to develop into whoever he's supposed to be when he grows up. He's interested in focusing on the analysis and innovation side of sustainability and I honestly don't know where to send him for networking with other like-minded people beyond my... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Climate Analysis for Architects (recorded webcast).
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Access climate data.
2. Choose appropriate design energy simulation tools.
3. Know when and how to run analyses with projected weather data... Read more
Forum topic
Hi everyone,
We’re happy to officially announce some big news you might have heard about on our monthly calls: as we wrap up 2024, we will be transitioning to a new platform for our Peer Networks Hub!
Instead of finding the forums, member directory, and all other Peer Network resources on BuildingGreen.com, you will be able to... Read more
Forum topic
Hi (again) all,
Jacobs is looking to hire specifically for sustainability needs! We have a current job posting for a Senior Sustainability Specialist now up, and anticipate a similar posting soon for a mid-level person as well. Location for these would be in the Mountain or Pacific time zones, remote work is fine; other future... Read more
Forum topic
HGA is looking to fill several positions, including: a senior leader for resilience services and research, senior and junior simulation experts, senior and junior sustainability leaders. Please pass this along to anyone interested in working in a collaborative, passionate, and seriously fun team setting. Locations all over the country too.... Read more

