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
Peer Network Event
Forum topic
Hello Fellow Green Guru Members: I am pleased to be a new member of the Sustainable Community Design Leaders (SCDL) forum, and look forward to learning and contributing here. Also, in case you missed it, this week there were two important steps forward towards an eventual standardized Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) reporting system... Read more
Forum topic
Hi everyone,
Join us for the webinar, "IRA Funding with a Tax Expert Part 2: Updates and Clarifications" on Tuesday April 2nd at 3pm ET!
Register here and please feel free to invite anyone from your firms to join.
The great presenter from Energy Tax Savers, Jacob Goldman, is returning for a follow-up session for our... Read more
Quiz
Sustainability leadership has requested that you take this quiz to help assess sustainability literacy across the firm. Your own results will be presented to you at the end of the quiz but will not be shared with anyone else. Only aggregated, anonymized results will be available to others.
Please don’t do research to inform your answers... Read more
Forum topic
Looking for an example or case study for a building utilizing a radiant heating/cooling in climate zone 4a. General use type is office with some public assembly spaces, total of 85,000 sf.
As usual, everyone, especially mechanical engineer, is terrified by the thought of "condensation." So far, I read a DGWW case study, "Energy... Read more
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.
Celebrating BuildingGreen’s Top 10 Products for 2024 Wednesday, January 10 at 2:00pm Eastern (11:00am Pacific) Free to premium BuildingGreen and LEEDuser subscribersThe green building world’s most anticipated awards are almost here!
... Read moreForum topic
Hi,
Has anyone used a sustainable product that complies with the EQc Low-Emitting Materials requirement that is a general construction adhesive similar to Liquid Nails? I've checked the Mindful Materials website and can't find anything. I found Red Devil General Prupose Construction Adhesive on UL Spot, but have never used it before. Any... Read more
Forum topic
My name is Douglas Flandro. I am the sustainable design leader at CambridgeSeven in Cambridge, MA. I started my career in film and theater design. I moved into museum exhibit design with a graduate degree in interior architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2003. I still design museum exhibits for science museums, nature visitor... Read more
Forum topic
All,
For those who tuned into the Green Gurus presentation earlier this week, there was a question that came up during my presentation on NZE/NZC programs regarding whether ILFI allows the offsite renewable energy exception for LBC and Energy Petal projects (as opposed to NZE or NZC). I just double checked with them and it turns out they... Read more
Product Guide
Typically made from petrochemicals, carpet and its adhesives can offgas. It is also a challenge to recycle them, increasing the chances that it will be incinerated or disposed of in a landfill. Because carpet has a limited lifespan, its life-cycle performance is key.
BuildingGreen recommends modular carpet that demonstrates lower life-... Read more
Forum topic
Do you know something about power purchas agreements, on or off-site? I understand that they are legal in Washington and Oregon, where most of my projects are, but I haven't come across anyone who has used one on a project. If you have some experience or expertise, it would be great to hear from you.
Forum topic
Some of us SDLers saw a need to create an online repository for the best simulation graphics and created IBPSA Project Stasio over the last couple of years. Along side graphics is a list of simulation questions (in progress) that we as architects may not know we could ask. The graphics are linked to answer the questions so our simulation... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Materials Transparency & LEED.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the documentation needed for products to meet the Building Product Disclosure and Optimization: EPDs credit, Option 1 in the LEED v4 BD+C and ID+C rating systems.... Read more
Forum topic
Hello everyone!
My role at Sundt Construction is both a Preconstruction Project Manager, and Chairman of the company's sustainability committee. I've been involved in green building since 2001 and have been in leadership roles in both the Arizona and Minnesota USGBC Chapters. I look forward to being an active member of this group.... Read more
Forum topic
I don't have any direct affiliation with this role other than a former colleague asked if I would share the job posting for Director of Sustainability at Corgan with my network - that's you! She provided a little more context - they are obviously looking for someone with sustainability experience but are open to an up-and-comer who would be... Read more
