Hi All,

I try to respect this forum and limit sharing events to the ones that are extra exciting and this is one of them. Coming up on May 20th 4-6pm,  Built Environment Plus (formerly USGBC MA) is launching our Building Tech Forum v2.0 Series.  Here's the link to register: https://builtenvironmentplus.org/building-tech-forum-2020/

Split systems are multi-component units that use an outdoor condenser along with separate indoor fan coils to move refrigerant—and provide heating and cooling—in buildings without the need for ducts.

BuildingGreen-Approved Systems

BuildingGreen approves mini-splits that are tested to AHRI standards and have minimum SEER and an... Read more

Hi Everyone -

I just received this note from Don Horn at the GSA (Deputy Director, Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings):

"Here's another installment of our work to reduce emissions through GSA's actions. GSA issued a press release this morning announcing our new standards for low carbon concrete and environmentally... Read more

THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.

Are your clients asking you about wellness? You’re not alone. Healthy interiors and wellbeing are the trending buzzwords of sustainable design. In this hour-long live webinar, GreenStep Education's Alex Spilger will walk you through the seven concepts within WELL and describe what sets... Read more

Hi Small Firm Sustainable Design Leaders!

Our call today at 1pm Eastern will focus on the ways in which your firm is impacted differently than larger firms on the variety of topics and issues that are reflected in the 2020 SD Leaders Winter Summit REPORT. Take a look at this report and especially at slides 14-33. Bring your observations... Read more

We talked about products in Eastern region and Western region groups. 

Guiding questions:

Better Product Choices On Every Project: How To Get There?

How do firms organize and communicate information on materials? Is it office wide or on select projects?

What do designers and project managers need to know? How... Read more

We are looking into different building skin materials from including GFRC and FRP (amongst others) as alternatives to precast. I remember years ago (when I was at LAS) we had retrofitted a Federal Courthouse with FRP for blast resistance. I kind of remember that at the time it had some pretty high offgassing concerns. I haven't been able to... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of LEED v4 Tips from Early Adopters: Earn High Ratings Without Added Costs.

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


1. Explain how the Integrative Process credit rewards good design but is tricky for taxpayer-funded projects.
2. Describe how... Read more

Caseworks can be made from unsustainable wood and other materials, and with adhesives and finishes that offgas formaldehyde and other hazardous compounds.

BuildingGreen-Approved Casework

Approved caseworks are:

The construction sector’s take-make-waste approach to materials needs an overhaul. Materials and construction account for an estimated 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually. At the other end of the life cycle, demolition in the United States annually generates 90% of some 600 million tons of construction-sector debris. Getting trashed... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

I'm excited to share another Peer Networks webinar we have on deck for August, coming up next week!

Register HERE.

“How Good is this Product?” - Multi-Attribute Assessment of Products and Product Selection Management Tools
Thursday, August 19th, 2021
12pm - 1pm ET (9am - 10am PT)

... Read more

Dear Colleagues:

This is a request from AIA COTE Advocacy to sign another petition on behalf of your firm. I know it's incomprehensible that we have to do this, but we at AIA COTE Advocacy think the US Federal Emergency Management Agency's removal of the term "climate change" from all their strategic planning documents is evidence of an... Read more

Hello SCL, 

If you didn't attend last week's SCL Summit, then I'll sum up one of the major takeaways: SCL members NEED TO COMMENT ON LEEDV5. The stakes are high, particularly around waste. 

Luckily, Amanda Kaminsky is making it easy for us. She has drafted a sample comment based on our discussion at the Summit. 

If you have... Read more

Hi everyone - in doing a carbon footprint for our firm, does anyone know if buildings that we design as Architects considered scope 3 emissions, or are they beyond the boundary of emissions? LMN's buildings, despite best efforts, are cumulatively multiple orders of magnitude above our scope 1 and 2 emissions. We have never included these... Read more

Hi: Great to see so many of you at AIA COTE Top Ten last week.  I'm forwarding the message below for those of you who know Marsha Maytum and can contribute to this important effort. Deadline is next Friday June 23rd!Thanks.

Mary Ann

Hello, friends,

During A'23, Je’Nen and I discussed our desire to send Marsha photos we have... Read more

Green Gurus –

Clark Brockman brought to our attention an important and impactful opportunity to advance building decarbonization through the US Department of Energy’s proposed rulemaking around water heater efficiency, advancing adoption of heat pumps, while still providing exceptions (and efficiency targets) for electric or natural gas... Read more