Explainer
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
News Brief
Carol Venolia, Publisher/Editor
If “progressive construction” can be defined as pushing the tools and techniques of conventional builders in the direction of less environmental destruction, then Building With Nature’s material goes beyond progressive, into the forefront of visionary thinking about construction. This bimonthly newsletter, now... Read moreProduct 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
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
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
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
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Behind the Logos: Understanding Green Product Certifications.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
Explain certification basics: standard development, the degree of separation between the certifier and the company whose product is being certified, and... Read moreForum topic
Greetings Gurus!
For those who missed it - last year we had a blast enjoying all of the brave souls who shared their awesome talents with us all - what could be better than to start the new year with friends and fun!?!
(See links below for last year's program)
If you are willing to perform again - that's great! (just cause... Read more
Quiz
This summit was pre-approved for 3.5 AIA LUs and 3.5 GBCI CE hours.
Please complete the survey questions to confirm your attendance and receive your CEUs.
By providing your credential numbers in your profile, you will enable us to automatically report these CEUs to the organization. Please check your profile to be sure your... Read more
Forum topic
We considering PV glazing for a project in SW Louisiana. Anyone have any successful PV glazing projects? Is this ready for primetime?
Forum topic
The ASHRAE Conference staff is looking for more architecture sustainability leadership for planning their Integrated Design & Construction Conference (i'm sure they'd take contractors too!). The staff do almost all of the logistics themselves but they want thought leadership from across the industry to guide the focus, content.
See... Read more
Basic page
This page contains our full User Agreement.
This Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions for your use of all webpages under both the BuildingGreen and LEEDuser names and domains, published by BuildingGreen, Inc. (collectively, the “Site”), including The BuildingGreen Report (formerly Environmental Building News) and BuildingGreen... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all - at the suggestion of Nadav and some of the Sustainable MEP Leaders, I'm reposting a thread I started a couple days ago in the SMEP forum.
In response to increasingly aggressive (and effective) targeting of building owners (particularly schools), a group of researchers have put their support behind a letter warning against the... Read more
Forum topic
The deadline for submitting presentations is coming up. This year ASHRAE is hosting a joint conference with Simbuild. We are just about to send out an extension announcement (It is now Feb 9th) , so there is still time to get an abstract for a presentation.
Possible ideas for topics:
Daylight - new metrics and... Read more
Forum topic
CALL for applications: national COTE Leadership Group
We need you! Or the dedicated, enegetic people you know ...
Please consider encouraging applications (or applying yourself) for the the COTE Leadership Group.
We have 2 1-year slots this year ... plus 3 3-year slots ... and we are looking for a diverse slate (diversity... Read more

