Currently not for sale, being updated and re-released in November 2021.

New Guide to Thermal Insulation Report

The BuildingGreen Guide to Insulation provides detailed guidance on insulation products and practices, including cost comparisons and detailed recommendations on what insulation to use, and what to avoid. It's a treasure... Read more

Hello all,

This month's SCDL call was full of great discussion! We decided this month that we are feeling good about where we are for the Task Force Agreement on defining social sustainabiltiy in our work. The aim is to work with this agreement for a while and see if it holds up as a process framework. There was also interest to invite... Read more

Hi all,

The USGBC Pacific Region is launching a new award this year that recognizes projects that have aspires to promote health of occupants and surrounding communities.  In true USGBC style, this award has not been properly publicized, so they are still looking for submissions.  I believe the deadline will be extended to June 7.  I... Read more

We have an MEP engineer that is calculating peak loads at about 6 times passive house levels on a large commercial building that is at or near passive house levels of insulation and air infiltration. We suspect one reason is that he is figuring a 50% efficiency level for the ERV. We are showing him ERV systems with 80-90% efficiency, but they... Read more

I'm working on convincing my firm to hire a director of sustainability. I'm gaining some traction with the discussion thanks to the fantastic feedback and input from the summer summit "Role of the Sustainable Design Leader" breakout session. Thanks everyone! Does anyone have job descriptions for sustainable design leaders that they'd be willing... Read more

Hi folks, 

AIA COTE National is looking for Techincal Reviewers for the 2025 awards. Interested, or know someone who might be?  Sign up here: https://form.jotform.com/231175886103153

Thanks!

Hey all - sorry I won't be able to join our call today. I had a client request an emergency meeting today (boo) because corporate mandated that they eliminate fossil fuel use from all their buildings (yay!) by 2025 and they've got a project underway that needs to pivot quickly. 

Had I been able to join, I wanted to share this in case... Read more

Hello SDL!

Has anyone set "Ecosystem Benefits/Service" targets for an individual project or for all their projects? I was previously against the idea of even measuring ecosystem benefits but I've had my mind changed in recent months!

Currently we want to set a target for every project to: "Improve ecosystem benefits on every site... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Five Reasons to Be Optimistic About Solar Energy!

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


Describe three ways how PV decreases environmental impact while increasing sustainability and health measures for communities.

Discuss PV life-cycle... Read more

SDL folks,

I wanted to make sure that you all saw that the call for presentations is open for AIA Houston’s Gulf Coast Green conference.  GCG is the leading sustainable design conference in the region and has historically had some great participation from this group.  The theme this year is Sustainability + Technology.  Details here:... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Video: Insights to Success on LEED-CI Certification.

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


1. Identify key changes to LEED CI 2009 (ID+C).
2. Identify the circumstances of a LEED-CI project that challenge the abilityto certify.
3.... Read more

I was wondering if any of you have experience with integrated PVs and/or solar glass. If so, can you could recommend manufactures for each? We are working on a multistory freestanding building in an urban site for a mid-Atlantic city. Because our site and roof area are limited we are looking to maximized the areas where we can generate power.... Read more

Asking for a colleague:

"Have you ever had a large number of fire retardant tarps used to temporarily enclose a building during construction? Do you know of any solutions for recycling/reusing them or another product that doesn't use toxic fire-retardants that meets the performance criteria?"

I think we've all seen poly or fabric... Read more

Fluid-applied roofing materials can be added to an existing roof to extend its life and provide reflective characteristics.

BuildingGreen-Approved Roofing

Products listed by BuildingGreen have VOC levels below 50 g/l and reflective surfaces to reduce heat gain.

Energy Star requires initial reflectance of 0.65 for low slopes... Read more

Hi all,

Just a reminder that the last day to RSVP for the Living Future 2023 Peer Networks Meetup is tomrorow, April 26th! There are still some spaces left, with 34 people currently signed up. Please RSVP here if you'll be attending.

When: Wednesday May 3, 2023, 7:30-9pm ET

Where: SmithGroup, 1700 New York Avenue, NW, Suite... Read more

Happy Thursday, all!

I will be presenting with my colleague, Emily Hoffman, and our counterpart from Seattle, Duane Jonlin, on how firms can contribute more to aggressive energy and carbon targets, from the perspective of three people that see thousands of projects each year.  We see the best and the worst, and we're convinced that our... Read more