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
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
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
Author
Boyd is part of the marketing team at BuildingGreen, where he supports analytics and social media engagement.
Boyd’s experience before joining BuildingGreen includes a decade in the paddlesports industry guiding whitewater trips as well as 5 years working in beer and wine manufacturing with a focus on customer interaction as well as... Read more
Forum topic
Hi All,
I want to share this report, released today, that I and some other folks on Green Gurus have been working on. The report dispels the myth that Zero Energy Buildings cost more (specifically in Massachusetts) and it goes further, making the case that Zero Energy Buildings are actually great investments. Take a look, tell us what... Read more
Forum topic
Great career opportunity to make an impact on existing buildings and emissions reductions. City of Seattle will be hiring a full time Building Emissions Reduction Technical Advisor. Closing date to apply is August 6. Please share if you know someone who may be a candidate.
Description from city of Seattle:
Want to influence large... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of The Building Envelope: Primers from Environmental Building News.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Explain how thermal mass helps maintain indoor thermal comfort in buildings.
2. Describe the differences between closed-cell and... Read more
Forum topic
I was talking to Nadav recently about job posting opportunities through Building Green and/or through the Peer network. He shared this topic has been discussed in the past, and thought I should send a question out to the network. I am guessing many of you are looking for talent right now too? Wouldn't it be cool to know people of have been... Read more
Forum topic
Sometimes referred to as “the dark side”, the construction industry isn’t actually so bad. We are mostly good people. And, we need good people.
Consigli is hiring a Sustainability Manager to work in Massachusetts, and we could use your help to fill the role. If you or someone you know is brimming with the sustainability force, please... Read more
Forum topic
Hello Green Gurus,
Here’s a reminder that our first Show & Tell for 2021 is happening next week! Monday, February 1st from 7-8pm ET and Tuesday, February 2nd from 4-5pm ET, come see your peers from all networks present for five minutes each on a variety of topics relating to their work.
This event is connected with the Summit-... Read more
Forum topic
Hi All,
I meant to put this is in Green Gurus and put it in SAL instead. Rookie mistake.
After this long winter, who is up for some fierce creativity and friendly competition internal to your company or between Green Gurus? What do you think of a location agnostic, virtual, Sustainability Scavenger Hunt from Earth Day to Mother'... Read more
Forum topic
We are looking into organics collection service in our corporate office in NYC. Is anyone else in this group composting at their corporate offices? I'm hoping to build a business case, so I'd like to highlight other firms in this group who are actively managing this process.
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.
Are your clients asking you about wellness? You’re not alone. Employee health and wellbeing has been called the ‘second wave of sustainability.’ In this hour-long live webinar, GreenStep Education’s Alex Spilger will walk you through Fitwel certification, including its requirements... Read more
Forum topic
I give you... the content-ready site. The editors should be able to start adding Best Practice content.
Development site:
https://live-bituser.pantheonsite.io/
Instructions (with tutorial videos):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EUIzitkW0CczFQo8V2q3gVDVO4Juk4EI9iv8...
I created accounts for all the editors... Read more
Forum topic
I'm teaching a LEED GA study group and was rambling on the differences between CIR and precident-setting LEED Interpretation (that gets posted in the addenda library and all). Then I went onto LEED Online and was showing how those are submitted... but can't actually figure out how a LEED Interpretation would be submitted. Has anyone done this... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all,
We recently learned that Mass Dept of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) along with a few other state agencies are looking to offer grants for wastewater heat recovery implemented into projects. This is a newer technology that puts a heat exchanger or heat pump in the wastewater system that then extracts the heat energy and... Read more
Forum topic
Hi All - I wanted to share out the All For Reuse initiative below by two peers in the sustainable materials management network. I know some SDL have already done much research on this from quite a few angles, and those with LBC experience probably even moreso in practice.
Frances Yang (Arup) and Andrew Ellsworth (Doors Unhinged) have... Read more

