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
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Are you or companies considering joining RE100? http://there100.org/going-100
"Companies joining RE100 make a global, public commitment to 100% renewable electricity.
To achieve this goal, they must match 100% of the electricity used across their global operations with electricity produced from renewable sources – biomass (... Read more
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Hello all,
Does anybody know of a substitute for Ecotect's solar tool? I use it to very quickly test shade options and I love how I can easily test horizontal and vertical elements, tilting and rotating them. I can have a window with the façade on one side and the sun path with the shadow mask on the other side. It is easy to use and... Read more
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Know any awesome sustainability leaders within GC or CM firms? They can be at mid-sized or large construction companies—any firm in the ENR top 400 qualifies for sure, others might need some vetting. The key is people who have sustainability as the focus of how they spend their time--either formally by title or otherwise.
We want to... Read more
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I'm sure we'll learn more soon, but several people have asked on various platforms about how Betsy del Monte is doing (she lives in Asheville, NC, which was hard hit by Hurricane Helene).
I had a brief text exchange with her on Saturday 28 September, and I feel sure that she would be OK with my sharing it with you all:
We’re... Read more
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Hello Green Gurus,
Here is the information for this month's first Peer Networks Webinar, Previewing the WELL Equity Rating: a roadmap for advancing DEI. So sorry for the short notice - we had a pileup of tech issues and time off. We hope you can still join us!
Register HERE.
Previewing the WELL Equity Rating: a roadmap for... Read more
Basic page
BuildingGreen is the most trusted voice in sustainable design and architecture.
This ad-free, member-supported resource is here to guide designers in using high-performance strategies, and in selecting sustainable and healthy products.
If you haven't already, start by creating your unique user profile to get your log-in, and be... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of EPDs Are the Future of the Building Industry, Whether You Like It or Not.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Explain how environmental product declarations (EPDs) are made, what they tell you, and how they're best used.
2. Describe... Read more
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Short notice – apologies in advance.
Please review the new Guide following the instructions on the first page of the attached draft and using the attached spreadsheet. Comments will be accepted until February 16th at noon EST
Use the Excel spreadsheet to compile your comments if you have any, and return them to me by Feb 15th COB... Read more
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Hi folks,
A press release about this just showed up--most of what they're including in their "Clean Construction Declaration" involves reducing embodied carbon in materials, but they're also calling out construction equipment:
"Procure and, when possible, use only zero emission construction machinery from 2025 and require zero... Read more
Product Guide
Solvents and other hazardous ingredients contained in flooring adhesives can pose a significant health risk and compromise indoor air quality.
BuildingGreen-Approved Flooring Adhesives
BuildingGreen approves flooring adhesives that
exceed South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) 1168 VOC content limits and also... Read moreForum topic
We are looking for someone early in their career to take over our green building certifications (mostly LEED). They will also be helping our office build expertise in other certifications, keeping up with green building ordinances in our markets, and (hopefully) help me answer all those questions about energy codes.
They do not need... Read more
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
Successfully managing the LEED documentation process requires specific knowledge, tools, and skills that are not covered in the LEED Reference Manual. This CEU course is based on the LEED Project Management course that GreenStep developed and teaches through UC–Berkeley Extension. It is designed for professionals who are somewhat familiar... Read more
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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
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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
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This is something I have been tracking since last year. The same or similar bill was introduced in 2022 but failed by one vote. This would mandate carbon reporting for any company with revenue of $1B or more AND which does business in California. Unlike the upcoming SEC reporting requirements, this would apply to both private and public... Read more
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Hi all -
I have heard a good deal about SBTI in the last while and am wondering about this group’s firms’ engagement with them. We reported one year through CDP, and it was not very useful. It focused entirely on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, which are over 1000x times less than our semi-controllable Scope 3 (buildings’ embodied carbon and... Read more