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

I've written waste and recycling policies many a time before for both construciton and operations... but in a volunteer committee application this morning, the maintenance team got bogged down on "how do we collect recycling without plastic bags" question. I told them there's not any kind of plastic bag that I'm aware of which can be thrown... Read more

We apologize, but the heating fuel cost calculator is no longer on the BuildingGreen website.

Take a look at Efficiency Maine's heating fuel cost calculator instead.

Old windows can be leaky and uncomfortable, but window replacements are expensive and resource-intensive.

BuildingGreen-Approved Interior Window Panels

BuildingGreen approves interior window panels with robust warranties that are designed to achieve improved thermal performance with both reduced... Read more

For those who work for companies that track and offset their carbon each year, how do you do it? Looking for best practices and how you vetted where to send your money. Don't need insight on quantifying carbon footprint, just offsetting.  Thanks!

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

Hello friends,

Recently, as part of the AIA 2030 working group discussion – a topic came to light that was a conversation among (I believe) the SDL subset of our community, on a topic that is my personal obsession and daily focus – so I wanted to pipe up and share thoughts. BUT I want to respect the safe space, so if those of you in SDL... Read more

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

This summit was pre-approved for 10 AIA HSW LUs and 10 GBCI CE hours.

Please complete the survey question 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 first check your profile to be sure your... Read more

A site license allows your entire organization to access and share the report, and to keep a copy in your library. The site license does not allow multiple users to access the CEU quiz. If multiple individuals in your organization would like to access the CEU quiz from this report, please purchase individual copies. ​

A seal of... Read more

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out how to use this CLF MEP calculator tool that is downloadable from the CLF website. Please see screenshot attached - does anybody know what they are asking for as an input?

"Custom quantities input: The user can enter custom quantities on this tab and produce numerical results. For data input fill '... Read more

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.  

Hi everyone,

I'm excited to share this report from the 2024 Sustainable Design Leaders Summer Summit.

As usual, this report contains no revealing information that would counter our "safe space" rule so that it can be shared publicly. Feel free to pass it along to anyone interested.

It's hard to capture such a rich event in... Read more

On Thursday, September 27 at 2PM Eastern Time you can join the first BuildingGreen Communities webinar where we will share key takeaways from the 11th annual Summer Sustainable Design Leaders Summit (@ the Garrison Institute in upstate New York). Our new webinar format using Zoom will allow for interactive questions and comments throughout. If... Read more

Hi Fellow SDLers: I'm writing to share intel about two recent climate change articles that provide links to some great new resources:

1. From the AIA Trust: An excellent article in this month's AIA Trust Newsletter on "Climate Impact on Professional Liability." This includes links to some useful resources including the new AIA Hazard and... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Design Strategies for Occupant Engagement—and Why They Boost Performance.

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


1. Explain how research in the social sciences and neurology links occupant engagement strategies with specific sustainability... Read more

Nothing exciting like embodied carbon or EPDs... but I'm interested in some real talk on the actual performance of low-flow fixtures.  

We continue to encounter pushback on water-saving fixtures for concerns of ongoing performance. I'd love to have a dialog in this group because I find it hard to believe these challenges can't be... Read more

I'm so excited to share that the call for submissions is now open for 16cubits, a design festival and competition for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, to take place at Berkeley’s Urban Adamah in October 2024.

Please share with anyone you think might be interested! Our hope is to create a forum for builders, designers, and architects to... Read more