The opportunity for water savings from installing efficient toilets, and from toilet replacement, is significant. In addition to improvements to the traditional gravity system, pressure- and vacuum-assisted flushing systems are available that offer superior performance—albeit often with some increase in flushing noise.

Hello everyone! I’m happy to be re-joining the group after a two year hiatus.

Pre-pandemic I got to participate in a few winter summits when I was Sustainability Director at Overland Partners in San Antonio. I’ve recently joined Mahlum Architects in Portland and I’m excited to re-engage in the conversation, this time from the West Coast... Read more

Hi all, 

Thank you again to those of you who attended the Summer 2024 SDL Summit! We had an unforgettable few days of learning from one another, including from our presenters.

The slides for the 5-minute presentations are below, as well as the BuildingGreen slides from the Summit. Please be aware that we have permission from all... Read more

Has anyone done any museums in which they hired an independent QA/QC specialist? Or perhaps, your firm offers QA/QC services and experise in this area? If so, could you please reach out to me? I'm wondering what firm you used and what your experience was. Was it worth the fee?

Dear SDL'ers

After many months of soul searching about my role as a sustainability leader and how to have the most positive environmental impact, I have decided to take a leave from practice to pursue further studies this September. I will be undertaking a two year Master’s degree at the Institute for Resources, Environment and... Read more

Hi folks,

Our next private webinar is coming right up:

Fusion of Design + Performance: How Payette Was Recognized As AIA Firm of the Year

Tuesday, February 12, 1:00 pm EST

Payette is the first AIA Firm Award recipient to have been nominated jointly by the Committee on Design and Committee on the Environment. Z Smith... Read more

Hi, folks! Posting on behalf of an individual outside of the networks. Are you seeking a sustainability and materials specialist in-house? This candidate great qualifications, including:

Hi all,

We’re thrilled to share that registration is now open for our All-Networks Workshop on Integrated Design + Delivery from the Inside Out! The workshop will be held on July 15th at Miller Hull’s Seattle office, right before the Summer 2024 SDL Summit. Register now before it fills up, and please feel free to email me with any... Read more

As some of you know, BuildingEase is the first (FREE) platform focused on building products that combines a workflow tool, waste exchange and marketplace (yes, you actually buy it all right from the site!).

The platform saves tons of hours, major headaches and streamlines workflow within a firm and across a team.

We are going to... Read more

I'm curious who in this group has used ASHRAE Standard 209-2018, Energy Simulation Aided Design for Buildings except Low Rise Residential Buildings?

We've used it internally (minimally) as a reference to help better communicate the goals and activities involved with energy modeling at various phases of design. But it seems like there's... Read more

Dear SDL,

After almost 12 years at Sasaki, I have finally decided to leave for a path slightly-less-traveled. My own development project in Boston (passive house, ZNE condos) is in construction and I will be focusing my attention on that over the course of this year, and then hoping to continue doing similar integrated... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of What’s New in Multi-Attribute Environmental Certifications.

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


1. Describe several styles of multi-attribute certification.
2. List a benefit and a downside to both point-based certification programs and... Read more

Jill is a licensed architect with WELL and Living Future accreditation. Through her experience leading sustainable achievement and verification on projects in the workplace, K-12, civic, and retail/mixed use typologies, Jill brings her passion for sustainable materials across vetting categories, AEC disciplines, bid scenarios, and market... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Driving to Green Buildings: The Transportation Energy Intensity of Buildings​​!

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


Define “transportation energy intensity” as it relates to buildings and understand its impacts on the environment, human health, and... Read more

For those who work for companies that track and offset their carbon each year, how do you do it? Looking for best practices and how you vetted where to send your money. Don't need insight on quantifying carbon footprint, just offsetting.  Thanks!

AIA is looking for additional technical review jurors for their 2022 COTE Top Ten Award program particularly in the Water/Ecosystems and Energy/Discovery categories.  If you are interested please go to this webpage and complete the form.

Time is of the essence, so please complete the form no later than Friday, January 14, 2022.