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
News Analysis
EBN Advisory Board member Mike Nicklas led an international delegation of renewable energy experts in promoting sustainable energy at the Earth Summit last month. He and others were negotiating for inclusion of renewable energy and energy conservation measures into agreements being worked out for the United Nations... Read more
News Brief
Energy Source™ Directory
Life has been a whole lot easier around the office since theEnergy Source Directory arrived. Assembled and published by Iris Communications, this is the most complete and most useful guide to specialized products and materials used in energy-efficient construction that we've seen. The 500-page directory is... 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
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
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
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
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
Forum topic
Hey Everyone! My firm is a part of the local Passive House group helping organize the local Humid Climate Conference on May 2nd - 3rd. I wanted to make a post in the chat for those interested to sign up.
The theme is "Barriers To Better Buildings" and it's going to be a really strong, humid climate focused conference. We've nearly got... Read more
Product Guide
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
Forum topic
I have to admit that I wasn't particularly paying attention to LEED during Greenbuild, but anyone recall the "big announcement by USGBC" that LEED v4.1 is coming?
Article can be found @ Green Building Law Update by Stuart Kaplow and the title is "LEED v4.1 Announced by USGBC at Greenbuild."
https://www.greenbuildinglawupdate.com/... Read more
Forum topic
I was recently tasked by my CEO to uncover some qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (surveys) data within our organization related to the value remote working has had on our organization. He's specifically interested in questions such as how this experience has enhanced our value as teams, unity or disunity as a firm? Where has it ... Read more
Forum topic
Hello SCL,
I have a slightly different ask than my usual Contractor's Commitment announcements.
Our newest writer, Elizabeth Waters, and I are researching for a BG article about construction emissions and jobsite carbon for BuildingGreen.com
In particular, we are trying to research how much of a building’s lifetime carbon... Read more
Forum topic
Hi everyone -
I'm writing to conduct an informal (and unscientific) poll about the green certifications achieved by office spaces (main or branch) for Green Gurus firms. SERA is preparing to embark on the journey of finding, designing and inhabiting new office space, and we're interested to hear and learn from your experiences,... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Community-Scale Sustainability: Accelerating Change for People and Planet
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
Explain how combining stakeholder efforts and resources can achieve greater resilience and sustainability for communities.
Discuss... Read more

