Explainer
News Brief
Energy Source™ Directory
Life has been a whole lot easier around the office since theEnergy Source Directory arrived. Assembled and published by Iris Communications, this is the most complete and most useful guide to specialized products and materials used in energy-efficient construction that we've seen. The 500-page directory is... Read more
News Analysis
The City of Austin’s Green Builder Program was one of 12 award recipients in the United National Local Government Honours Programme at the Earth Summit in Rio, and the only winner from the United States. “The purpose of the Honours Programme is to recognize innovative local approaches to... Read more
Op-Ed
Introducing the first issue of our newsletter.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more
Feature
Susan Maxman is the first AIA president to make sustainable design a priority.
Q.Where would you say architects as a group stand on environmental issues?
A.Architects tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is important that we take the lead on these environmental issues. The architecture schools in particular tend to be conservative. They just aren’t... Read more
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
Feature
Carefully stake the building site and driveway, remove trees that are within the excavation area or too close, then erect a fence to keep heavy equipment off fragile soils and away from nearby trees.
Protecting trees and the local ecosystem when building on previously unbuilt land is a vitally important—yet often overlooked—part of environmentally responsible construction. Healthy trees and shrubs can reduce a home’s environmental impact and directly benefit homeowners in a number of ways:
•Enhancing comfort by shielding the house... Read more
Feature
Ozone depletion and global warming are two of our most serious environmental problems—and foam insulation materials containing CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) contribute significantly to both of these problems. The environmentally concerned builder or designer should make it a highest priority to avoid them. Even many of the non-CFC alternatives... Read more
Product Guide
Ground- and water-source heat pumps move refrigerant or water through the ground or a body of water for use as a heat source (for indoor heating) or heat sink (for indoor cooling).
BuildingGreen-Approved Heat Pumps
BuildingGreen approves:
super-efficient commercial systems residential ground- and water-source heat pumps that... Read moreForum topic
Financial literacy and speaking with clients on their terms. Guiding Questions:
Anyone have success stories? How do the financial considerations differ for developer work vs. institutional work vs. non-profit work vs. publicly funded work? What resources are available to assist? How have others talked to clients about costs? What has... Read moreQuiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Toxic Chemicals in Buildings: How to Find and Avoid the Worst Offenders (recorded webcast).
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Explain how key health hazards and opportunities for healthier choices vary by product category.
2. List... Read more
Forum topic
Hi GG: Just wanted to make sure you know about a free webinar that Buildings & Cities and Carbon Leadership Forum are putting on:
Zero Carbon: Can Built Environment Education Deliver?
Monday 8 February 2021, 9 – 10 am PST
Details and registration through this site:
https://carbonleadershipforum.org/zero-carbon-... Read more
Forum topic
Hey, all. Two questions:
-How do we communicate to you LEED User content that needs to be pulled through to BIT-user pages? Are you all going to assess each BP page for potential articles/topics that will be linked?
-Regarding the forums- is there a way to notify program staff when a forum has an unanswered question? Hoping to... Read more
Forum topic
Section 901.5.1.3 of the 2018 IgCC includes a requirement that "A critical review shall be performed by an external expert independent of those performing the LCA." I'm curious as to what other's experiences are with having an external expert review an LCA - how does one find such an expert? Do you have any favorites that you'd recommend? ... Read more
Forum topic
Hi folks,
If you're registered for the Summit, you should have gotten this message from me separately, but I wanted to post it here too to be sure. It would be great if everyone coming from out of town could stay together! We've achieved critical mass in terms of Summit participants--this is going to be a great and impactful gathering!... Read more
Forum topic
Figured I'd throw out this topic to the hive mind!
We are working on a project in the Midwest that involves taking down and replacing an 100-ish-year-old brick building. We are hoping to find a way to salvage and reuse some of this brick in new construction. I'd love to do an LCA comparison showing the benefits of salvaging the brick vs... Read more
Forum topic
Good evening,
I am looking for suggestions to replace"wood" siding at the 25-year-old Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies and as always there is no solution that does it all. There seem to be three main options: wood, composition siding, or fiber cement siding. I am looking for something with low embodied carbon, little maintenance,... Read more

