Product Review
To the best of our knowledge, this product is now being marketed under the name Rauhsaser by Better Wall System of Kenora, ON.
CoverAge is a tacky name for a great product that all remodelers should know about. It is a paintable, textured wallpaper that’s made entirely of recycled paper (at... Read moreNews 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
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
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
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
We have an environmentally-minded client who asked us to look into an alternative to the blue adhesive film that is typically used to seal uninstalled ducts for IAQ purposes. From a human health and waste perspective, they were hoping to find something that was both plastic-free and reusable. Has anyone tried out other options? I thought it was... Read more
Forum topic
For those of you who are close to CLT and mass timber, has the jump in US wood price also impacted the pricing of CLT on your projects, or viability of CLT compared to the cost of steel or concrete frame buildings?
If anyone has price data comparing CLT today to pre-Covid pricing or any metric that would describe the percentage change... Read more
Portal
The current Stantec/BuildingGreen featured topic is Material Health. Read on to learn the essentials, and then dive deep to earn CEUS.
Also see the Resilient Design featured topic, and also a survey of topics trending in Stantec’s regions.... Read more
Forum topic
Hi folks,
We're kicking off a new way for us to collaborate as a network: monthly web-based conference calls. The first one will be on Friday, Nov 15 at 1:00 eastern time. The topic will be "Sustainability and the Small Firm: Practices in Transition" -- which is the name of the proposal James has submitted (and gotten first-round... Read more
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
The live webinar occurred on April 12, 2023.
Live webinar attendance confirmation closed on May 5, 2023.
Questions or comments about your purchase? Please let us know via our company contact form.
Forum topic
Hello friends. On a current school project, an abuse resistant wall covering has been proposed as an alternative to our typical MDF wainscot. The proposed product has been used successfully in healthcare, and switching to it will save the project almost $1million, which is no small amount when the project is over budget and 7-figure cost... Read more
Product Guide
Medium-density fiberboard (MDF), particleboard, and interior-grade plywood can emit formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen. Some materials come from non-sustainable sources.
BuildingGreen-Approved Panels
Products meet California Air Resources Board (CARB) ultra-low emitting formaldehyde (ULEF) or no-added-... Read more
Forum topic
Hi folks,
In case you know someone who might be right for this Seattle-area gig:
The position is a Senior Program Manager with CBRE on the Microsoft account working with Katie Ross, MS Sustainability Program Manager, to deliver their sustainability program to their real estate globally.
Here is the posting: https://cbre.... Read more
Forum topic
I was asked to share this with my network...
"For colleagues working with LCA data, during design, construction, or facility management proces, please help us understand how EPDs are useful in your processes by completing the survey below:"
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ashrant-aryal-2354497a_qualtrics-survey-q...
Forum topic
Currently, the BIT User site is fully accessible without having to log in (unless you want to edit or add content, of course). The time has come, however, to start restricting access only to logged-in users.
Which sections will be freely visible, and which will be visible only to registered users? Here's what I recall from our earlier... Read more
Forum topic
Hello Sustainable Design Leaders,
Mark your calendars for an exciting webinar next Wednesday, May 27th, at 2:30pm ET and REGISTER HERE!
Missing the Forest: How forest practices impact the carbon embodied in mass timber projects is a follow-up to last month’s conversation on embodied carbon and mass timber. The presenters will be... Read more


