Explainer
News Analysis
The recent ruling to allow logging on several thousand acres of old-growth forest in western Oregon was portrayed in the national media as a blow to environmentalists, but the action may not prove so damaging in the end. While the ruling permits logging on 13 of the 44 sites that were under consideration by the so-... Read more
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
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
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
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
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
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
Forum topic
Hi everyone,
Join us for the webinar, "IRA Funding with a Tax Expert Part 2: Updates and Clarifications" on Tuesday April 2nd at 3pm ET!
Register here and please feel free to invite anyone from your firms to join.
The great presenter from Energy Tax Savers, Jacob Goldman, is returning for a follow-up session for our... Read more
Forum topic
We talked about products in Eastern region and Western region groups.
Guiding questions:
Better Product Choices On Every Project: How To Get There?
How do firms organize and communicate information on materials? Is it office wide or on select projects?
What do designers and project managers need to know? How... Read more
Forum topic
The NYC SDL Group met to discuss the recent SDL Summit Report. The North Star tenant "About the well being of all species" spurred discussion of an example of building's impact on other species: bird collisions. Links to some resources to address this issue are below. Feel free to ask me and/or Stefan Knust about it. We would be more than happy... Read more
Product Guide
Using energy for cooling during peak hours places a large demand on utilities, is expensive, and can be less efficient than off-peak energy production.
BuildingGreen-Approved Thermal Energy Storage
BuildingGreen lists a variety of thermal energy storage systems.
About
Off-peak cooling, or thermal energy storage (TES... Read more
Forum topic
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.
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of BuildingGreen’s Top 10 Green Building Products for 2018.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Explain the transparency and optimization criteria in the LEED v4 (applicable to Building Product Disclosure and Optimization credits in LEED v4 BD+C and... Read more
Forum topic
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!
Forum topic
Hi,
Has anyone used a sustainable product that complies with the EQc Low-Emitting Materials requirement that is a general construction adhesive similar to Liquid Nails? I've checked the Mindful Materials website and can't find anything. I found Red Devil General Prupose Construction Adhesive on UL Spot, but have never used it before. Any... Read more


