Following up on the Decarbonizing Existing Building: Envelope + MEP Solutions Integrative Design Jam, a cohort of us determined a "Decision Making Tree Toolkit" that begins to classify decisions into and "if/then" framework using region, market, climate, scale of intervention, and other factors would be useful in helping us collectively move... Read more

Friends, I'm helping with the 2023 COTE Top Ten Award and would love some input from this group on 2 things: 

1) Now that the AIA Design Excellence awards use the Framework for Design Excellence as their entry criteria, what do you see as the next gen for the Top Ten? If you could change 1-3 things, what would they be? If you submitted... Read more

Jenny/Dan:

What types of content do anticipate having in the Documentation Toolkit tab? Here's an example of what we have on LEEDuser:

https://leeduser.buildinggreen.com/credit/EBOM-2009/SSc5#tab-docs (login required)

The layout is a little complicated on LEEDuser, since we had to work with a lot of legacy content, but... Read more

Hi all, has anyone come across a comprehensive (and recent) study looking at how long buildings actually last (beyond Stewart Brand)? I know of plenty that look at the benefits of reuse, but none that look at existing building stock and how much has been reused vs. demolished. 

As we start looking at embodied carbon metrics, I can't help... Read more

Hi everyone,
The city of Portland recently expanded acceptable certifications for affordable housing projects they provide funding for to include Enterprise Green Communities Certification. Other options are LEED (flavor depends on project size) and Earth Advantage Multifamily, which is a regionally owned and operated certification. This... Read more

Seeking a dashboard system that will take energy use data from individual (college student) apartments to display in the lobby. Something where the display is both educational, easy to understand, and that could inspire a little friendly competition. Welcome any recommendations you have installed on projects or have seen that would be cool to... Read more

This is a bit off the thread of sustainable design leadership, but how much design and/or leadership can you get done without an adequate amount of caffeination?

We are looking for recommendations and advice on improving the sustainability of our breakrooms, particularly on the subject of beverage (mostly coffee, but also a fair amount... Read more

Is your team ready to increase its sustainability knowledge? A team membership allows colleagues to work and learn collaboratively. We offer 10-person, 20-person, and 30-person team memberships. Make BuildingGreen your team's all-in-one... Read more

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

Hi SDLers: ESG Investing is mushrooming which is a very good thing. AIA National, for example, just switched over to 100% ESG investments. With it, there seems to be a growing number of "ESG-lite" options. I'm wondering if anyone among this informed group has recommendations on how to determine a quality investment approach. I'd appreciate any... Read more

The COTE Toolkit just launched on AIA.org's site, please go and check it out and share with your networks. The project spanned over the last year+ with over 40 authors, subject matter experts, and reviewers contributing to the process, (including many Green Gurus!)

With the goal of closing the information gap to designing high... Read more

Hello SCL,

Quick reminder to sign up for our SCL Summit in May! True to usual form, we ask what’s important to YOU before we finalize an agenda. In the next couple of weeks, we will be sending out a draft agenda and asking for your feedback. Sign up now so your voice will be heard. Initial ideas so far have included:

Welcome to the quiz portion of A Guide to Selecting Sustainable Textiles.

Learning Objectives

Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:


Hello SCL,

Our diligent Contractor's Commitment working group (led by the great Amanda Atkinson) have reviewed a massive amount of feedback and will soon be releasing an updated version of the program (CC 2.0). We will need a majority of the SCL membership to vote YES to adopt the updated version for 2023. 

In advance of the vote... Read more

Hi folks -

I was contacted last week by the producer of the documentary that launches this Thursday, 12/10 - he is hoping to generate interest among folks across the environmental spectrum (which of course includes all of us!) so I am sharing his pitch below with you all. The subject of water scarcity and drought is only going to... Read more

All,

Some of my colleagues and I have been working to promote interest in mass timber construction for K-12 builidngs.  As part of that effort we redesigned a large high school using mass timber in lieu steel, and conducted a whole building life cycel assessment to measure the reduction in embodied carbon.  We also conducted a program-... Read more

I'm looking into using solar shingles as a roofing option for a historic building renovation. Has anyone used them before and have any recommendations? I understand they won't be as efficient as traditional panels, but I'd like to figure out if it would be a worthwhile compromise to discuss with the historic commission, if necessary. Thanks... Read more