Mary Ann Lazarus

Hi Everyone!

I am now in my last week in the Bay Area, and in my last three weeks at (my first 15 years at) SERA, as I will be leaving on my extended sabbatical at the end of April!

I will miss following this group's dialogue, and will especially miss attending the summits for the next couple of years! 

My colleagues Mark... Read more

Hello everyone,

So sorry that some of you couldn't get onto the call on Tuesday! There was a bit of a problem with our Zoom links. I think we've figured it out, so we should be all set next time.

Here are the notes from the call. If you have any questions about something on there, please feel free to post them here and we'll try... Read more

Does anyone know of a source for finding the operational solid waste generated by typical building/use types (weight/sf)? I couldn't find anything on LEED, True, or EPA. I found this table but isn't by sq ft for many of hte uses. Waste Generated by Industry and Building Type (wastecare.com)

Welcome to the quiz portion of 20 Ways to Advance Sustainability in the Next Four Years!

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


Identify the challenges to green building during a time of environmental urgency and political unrest, and find opportunity in these challenges.

... Read more

Hello! Does anyone know of any general contractors who produce a CSR? Is anyone aware of any general contractors who have an ESG rating? If so, what company is being utilized (i.e. EcoVadis) to get the ESG rating?  

The Sustainable MEP Leaders peer network brings together the most committed sustainability directors from leading MEP design firms throughout the U.S. and Canada. We invite you to apply for membership.

We look for the... Read more

Conventional heating systems burn fossil fuels on the building site or use outrageous amounts of electricity.

BuildingGreen-Approved Heat Pumps

The best heat pumps solve both these problems and provide efficient cooling. BuildingGreen approves air-source heat pumps with minimum HSPF and SEER levels of 10 and 20, respectively.... Read more

Hi folks,

If you're registered for the Summit, you should have gotten this message from me separately, but I wanted to post it here too to be sure. It would be great if everyone coming from out of town could stay together! We've achieved critical mass in terms of Summit participants--this is going to be a great and impactful gathering!... Read more

Hey, all. Two questions:

-How do we communicate to you LEED User content that needs to be pulled through to BIT-user pages? Are you all going to assess each BP page for potential articles/topics that will be linked?

-Regarding the forums- is there a way to notify program staff when a forum has an unanswered question? Hoping to... Read more

Hello!

I'm curious what other firms like to use to run site-specific sun path and wind path analysises that is relatively intuitive to use and generates good graphics. We have used the climate consultant software for wind roses which is free and simple. We've also used sefaira but we're hoping to crowd source more resources. We purchased... Read more

ICYMI, this washington post piece reminded me of our summit conversation last Friday about architecture's/SDL's role in reimagining the world post-covid through innovating our practice. 

The article contains some compelling quotes from several visionary architects (fascinated that it's mostly big-A architects, largely bypassing input... Read more

Hello fellow sustainable design leaders! I am about to kick off an intensive effort here at EHDD to refine our internal standards for materials. We will be considering both GWP as well as the health of materials (avoiding harmful chemicals). In addition to setting the standards, I will be working to develop a process to vet materials before... Read more

Friends, 

Might anyone be aware of research studies on the beneficial mental health effects of green buildings that you could point me to?

Thanks in advance. 

Hello, fellow SDLs, 

I wanted to share an opportunity for you - or those in your network - to join a passionate team of architects and designers based in Anchorage, Alaska. I'm told that you'd be asked to join the full team in Anchorage a few times a year for team building events but otherwise you can WFW (work from wherever!).

I... Read more

Reminder: For anyone interested in continuing to participate in the Climate Smart Wood Working Group, please note that we have joined the other CSWG and will have our first meeting next Wednesday.  Visit the Working Group page for the meeting invite and agenda.