When BuildingGreen started publication in 1992, simply finding building products designed with environmental benefits in mind was a big challenge. 

In the years since we’ve seen rapid advances in green building materials and products, and manufacturers are beginning to take topics such as embodied carbon and social justice concerns—... Read more

My firm didn't have representation at the winter summit, but I've just read the report (thank you, RoseAnn!), and was really glad to see there was conversation around mass timber. I'd love to talk with anyone who was involved in that roundtable to get a deeper download about the discussion. We've been doing a lot of mass timber buildings and... Read more

Green Gurus -

I’m honored to be co-chairing, along with Caryn Brause FAIA, the ACSA/AIA Intersections Research conference at UMass Amherst October 2023.   The theme, "Material Economies," was developed with an eye for inclusivity for academics and practitioners alike, addressing critical emerging issues around architectural material... Read more

The Sustainable Design Leaders group has had awesome, inspiring Summits for ten years now—and there is so much more we can do can to make it a thriving, essential year-round community. To do that we have to extend the trusted “safe space” of the Summits into our online conversations.

And other groups are just getting started on a... Read more

Green Gurus –

Clark Brockman brought to our attention an important and impactful opportunity to advance building decarbonization through the US Department of Energy’s proposed rulemaking around water heater efficiency, advancing adoption of heat pumps, while still providing exceptions (and efficiency targets) for electric or natural gas... Read more

Hello,

This is not my area of expertise but our contactor has suggested central heat pump hot water (CHPHW) is $1m more expensive than gas fired domestic hot water for a 150 unit multi-family residential building in Massachusetts. The Building Decarbonization Practice Guide is extremely helpful but, from their comments, it is all coming... Read more

Wood was the first material used in window frame and sash construction, and it remains popular for homes with its warm feel and relatively high energy efficiency.

BuildingGreen-Approved Windows

Wood windows must achieve an NFRC-certified unit U-factor of 0.22 or lower. Manufacturers also must demonstrate that their highest-... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Occupant Engagement: Where Design Meets Performance.

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


1. Restate at least five methods being used to provide feedback to occupants so that they better understand how to interpret, and respond to, their... Read more

Received answers from below questions from NIST Andy Persily

1. Is there a preferred bookends range of CO2 for both “optimal” energy and human performances?

Andy: No

2.Is the ASHRAE ventilation of 1000-1200 ppm average, probably not based on performance, suggesting current ventilation rate is sub-optimal with cognitive... Read more

Hello Green Gurus!

Here is a [LINK] to an updated version of the letter, including all the signatories we had as of last Friday - thank you all!

This message is really geared for your firm's social media/communications team, so if you aren’t that person, please share this message with them! With that said, all of you (whether your... 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

Here are additional slide decks from people who presented in one of our general sessions: at Max's Pot, or in the mornings. Also Jerelyn's Wednesday evening presentation on BuildingGreen's work on sustainability literacy.

Among those included here are my slides on the Rich Earth Institute and urine diversion into fertilizer--did you... Read more

Big news! It’s being announced today that the amazing Lindsay Baker will be ILFI’s new CEO—she’s starting the job next week.

Lindsay is talking about bringing a new focus on advocacy work to ILFI—she had been working on setting up a new organization for that purpose when ILFI recruited her. And she’ll have her hands full figuring out... Read more

Hi SD Leaders: I'm hoping that you guys can be a great resource for a family member who teaches at Carnegie Mellon University, Professor Marvin Sirbu. Marvin teaches and does research in the Energy and Public Policy department and each year leads a class that takes on a challenging real-world problem to arrive at innovative solutions. This time... Read more