Gypsum is calcium sulfate dehydrate, which is mined or produced as a byproduct of flue gas desulphurization (FGD) from coal-fired power plants. FGD gypsum may contain trace contaminants from coal processing, but not enough to represent a hazard to users. Years ago, some imported products created indoor air quality problems that required... Read more

All,

My team at WSP has a pretty awesome senior position available and I wanted to bring it the group's attention as we try to get the word out. The role is to lead our Sustainable Design Analytics group (part of our Built Ecology team), ideally based in CA or NYC, but open to wherever good candidates may be. If anyone knows someone that... Read more

So every year about this time I get to spend many lovely moments with our AIA 2030 Reporting data. In order to make the data useful the CBECS baselines/National baselines aren't great in telling us how we did.

For about half our 15 projects that we report in the average year - performing arts, convention, data science schools, etc - a... Read more

Hi SDL: Check out this great interview with Paul Hawken and  COTE members Gunnar Hubbard and Kira Gould. Lots of inspirational ideas about the importance of the built environment in carbon drawdown: 

Here's that link---

https://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/aia-cote-in-conversation-with-paul-hawken_o

thanks.

... Read more

I wanted to share news of a pledge intiated by the US Government Health and Human Services to reduce healthcare sector emissions. It was announced on Earth Day 2022. The pledge is part of the US's efforts to meet commitments made at COP26. I highly recommend watching the webinar to hear more of the pledge's nuance.

The voluntary pledge... Read more

Hello all,

We are looking at ways we can use our specs to reduce toxicity in projects and one step towards that goal may be to require RoHS compliant lighting, switches, alarms, meters, etc., as required by the Small Electrical Components exception in the Living Building Challenge. Based on LBC projects I have been involved with, it... Read more

Hi SD Leaders: I wanted you to know about a terrific initiative that is part of the Project Drawdown effort called Project Drawdown Ecochallenge. The Project Drawdown EcoChallenge is a fun and social way to learn about and take action on the 100 most substantive solutions to global warming. 
Drawdown EcoChallenge provides tools and... Read more

Hello! We are currently working on an LBC Petal project pursuing the Materials Petal. Does anyone know whether H1 lubricants are inherently Red List Free given they are food grade lubricants? We are trying to figure out whether NSF H1 registered lubricants need ingredient reporting or whether the NSF registration works similar to Delcare, RoHS... Read more

Practitioners interested in reducing the embodied carbon of buildings are likely now used to considering the impact of different materials, like mass timber or low-carbon concrete. Low-carbon construction, however, may be less familiar. 

Contractors are just... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

I wanted to take a moment and introduce myself as I am new to the group. My name is Tim Pranaitis and I am the co-chair of the newly-reformed sustainability committee at Steffian Bradley Architects in Boston, MA. As a newer member of my firm, I have been tasked to re-start and grow our sustainability committee which... Read more

Pierce Quéry, Roving Reporter

Welcome to the quiz portion of Choosing Insulation: Health and Environmental Considerations – Unit 1.

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


1. Discuss how insulation works.
2. Summarize how insulation performance is measured and reported.
3. Recount the wide... Read more

I'm working with the AIA Minneapolis chapter on guidance for small firms related to how and when to energy model. A lot of small firms would like to sign the AIA 2030 Commitment (we had 100 in a room in 2022 in a session led by Nadav and Gwen Fuertes). But we have learned that a) they don't have a good way to energy model small commercial to... Read more

I am looking for a healthy and safe mold preventative product to use on wood construction to prevent mold growth as this full wood building (truss, framing, exterior sheathing) will be exposed to moisture via the elements until the roof gets put on in earlywinter.

Please share your feedback, thus far we have found what looks like a lot... Read more

Looking for 2-more flushometer style dual-flush flush valves to put in a public project spec alongside sloan uppercut and cannot seem to  find any.  Does anyone have any that they have used?

Thanks in advance!

What is the status of the roof insulation market regarding non-halogen containing polyiso boards? I know GAF and Atlas still have them. I thought JM had them as well, but seems to have taken them off the menu. Are there performance issues?

At the recent All Networks Workshop in Seattle, I listened with interest to some conversation about including sustainability goals, KPI's, critical materials lists, and other related topics on a G-sheet in the drawing set.  This is something I had not previously considered, but would like to learn more about. 

If you work for a design... Read more