There are a few spots left for the 2018 Summer Architecture + Design Sustainable Design Leaders Summit that is being held August 1-3 at the Garrison Institute in Garrison, NY (Easy train ride from NYC). If you have not already received an invitation, and you play a sustainability leader role - either formal or informal - in a mid-sized (>40... Read more

As you might well remember, one of the Working Groups that came out of the SummitPalooza earlier this year was for MEP Embodied Carbon & Refrigerants.  That Working Group began working with the Carbon Leadership Forum and is now excited to announce the rollout of the MEP 2040 Challenge: “All systems engineers shall advocate for and achieve... Read more

Hi folks,

We often hear from you with a suggestion of someone who would be great for the network, and a question about how to refer them. We've now made that easy, with three steps laid out in an Outreach Toolkit that's posted in the left margin of the Member Directory.

So, if you're thinking of someone to invite or come across... Read more

Carpet is comfortable, offers good sound control, and offers great aesthetic options. But it is typically made from petrochemicals, and carpet and its adhesives can offgas VOCs. It is also a challenge to recycle, increasing the chances that it will be incinerated or disposed of in a landfill. Broadloom carpet cannot be readily repaired if... Read more

Pumpy Nullifidian

Hi all, 

You all know how much the Living Building Challenge and other ILFI programs have transformed the aspirations of our industry, right? This year ILFI has the privilege of being included in Washington's GiveBig campaign! For the next two days, you can help bring attention to the site, raise support and draw people to the page where... Read more

For those who are visiting Chicago, Kira Gould has asked me to spread the word about a casual AIA COTE meet-up. Stop by, meet friends and have a beer.

If you will be in Chicago on November 15, please consider joining a casual meet-up of COTE leaders/members/friends (no fee to join; it's pay-your-own-way at the pub):  

AIA COTE... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Design for Adaptation: Living in a Climate-Changing World.

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

1. Identify the major known causes of climate change
2. Describe the range and reliability of predicted temperature changes.
3. List... Read more

Hi everyone! Our sister company, Flatiron, is a heavy civil/infrastructure contractor based out of Broomfield, CO. Their sustainability team is on the hunt for a Circular Economy Manager. Our companies recently announced exciting public ESG and climate commitments, including several related to waste reduction, life cycle assessments, and more... Read more

Hello - 

I am looking for the recording and the PDF/ slides that were shared 3/6 for the project process share-out/ 5 min presentations. It was super inspiring and I would like to refresh my memory of some of what was shared. Thank you!

–
Alison Nash 
AIA, LEED AP ID+C, CPHC, WELL AP
Associate | Sustainability... Read more

I'm looking for successful examples of net-zero, Living Building, or similar office buildings that are NOT owned by highly-motivated organizations like RMI or the Bullitt Foundation (or one of your firms).

We are looking to team with a developer on a small-mid-size office building that will house our new office with us as a tenant (no... Read more

hi all! I'm almost at the finish line with this year's 2030 reporting...whew. I'm running into an issue that I wanted to throw out to this group, regarding the zero tool and national average baselines. Hoping some of y'all who manage your firm's 2030 data, or are just more familiar with CBECS and related data, have some insight / experience to... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of The PVC Debate: A Fresh Look

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


1. Catalog the history of PVC in the building industry.
2. Recount the connections between PVC and chlorine, dioxins, mercury, and vinyl chloride.
3. Explain the... Read more

I think it now qualifies as a tradition! We've arranged a room where we can gather for an hour and check in during the Thursday afternoon reception time at Living Future. If you'll be there, come join us!

Thursday, May 2 at 5:30, Skykomish Room (#604, 6th floor)

We'll be mostly Sustainable Design Leaders, as that's by far our... Read more

Hi there SD Leaders,

We're running an LCA on one of our projects that's about to start construction that has had serious embodied carbon goals and I got a result that really surprised me. I haven't been able to find any obvious/glaring issues with the work, but these results are strange enough that I'm not feeling confident. I'm hoping... Read more