Does anyone here have a draft spec for low embodied carbon concrete they could share? I see the GSA has a standards sheet with MGWP limits, but we are hoping to actually specify the mix for upcoming projects.

Per our discussion on today's SMEP call, it would be interesting to have a more in-depth discussion on Indoor Air Quality. Questions I have personally...

Shane, please confirm that there is a meeting this Friday (4/6) and if the time is 3:00 ET. We plan to have at least one member from our team there. Also, please forward the links/numbers for joining the meeting.

It would be helpful to know any questions you have ahead of time (if possible) so we can bring answers and what portion of... Read more

Electrochromic glazing holds the promise of less glare and better energy efficiency with fewer moving parts. The reality is much more complicated and includes information you won’t... Read more

Hi folks,

As you may know, this network is part of a family of Sustainability Leader Peer Networks that BuildingGreen hosts. They each have their own private forum, and there is also a shared cross-network forum called "Green Gurus." 

Those of you have already paid in to be part of this network moving forward have automatically... Read more

Following up something I mentioned at the summit - the EPA is hosting public comment webinars related to the IRA and construction. The first one seems particularly relevant, 3/2/23 from 2-3.30pm EST “Reducing Embodied GHG Emissions: Construction Materials Prioritization and Environmental Data Improvement”. Good opportunity to have our voices... Read more

Hi Everyone! 

I am building our internal/firm resources around sustainable design, and creating our post-occupancy evaluations is one of those resources. Does anyone have references or resources they'd recommend me to look into for post-occupancy evaluations? So far I am considering a few evalutation types: building user input, building... Read more

Dana Manafarm

I give you... the content-ready site. The editors should be able to start adding Best Practice content.

Development site: 
https://live-bituser.pantheonsite.io/

Instructions (with tutorial videos):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EUIzitkW0CczFQo8V2q3gVDVO4Juk4EI9iv8...

I created accounts for all the editors... Read more

Hi all - 

I have heard a good deal about SBTI in the last while and am wondering about this group’s firms’ engagement with them. We reported one year through CDP, and it was not very useful. It focused entirely on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, which are over 1000x times less than our semi-controllable Scope 3 (buildings’ embodied carbon and... Read more

Hi all,

I see that this was a hot topic for the Winter Retreat this past year, but I am wondering how your firms manage standard materials across your practice. two aspects - standard specification items, and also designer choice materials. 

1. Do you have a spec baseline with high performance materials that you start with for all... Read more

Hello friends. On a current school project, an abuse resistant wall covering has been proposed as an alternative to our typical MDF wainscot. The proposed product has been used successfully in healthcare, and switching to it will save the project almost $1million, which is no small amount when the project is over budget and 7-figure cost... Read more

I'm wondering if people are seeing any increase in WELL or Fitwel certification interest? Or any other 3rd party systems aimed at health and wellness? WELL seems like a higher bar and now WELL v2 offers more flexibility. Is interest and adoption of 3rd party health and wellness certs growing? 

Good morning. If you're worried  like I am by today's new IPCC Report and would like some helpful explanation I recommend reading climate scientist Zeke Hausfather's lengthy Twitter feed summarizing key aspects with graphics. It's here https://twitter.com/hausfath/status/1424642708291821569?s=21

of course we need to see this as an even... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Green Building Product Certifications: Getting What You Need.

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


1. Differentiate between a standard and a certification.
2. Describe "greenwashing" and list at least two ways to spot it.
3.... Read more

I have been asked to recommend folks to join the AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence.  The AIA Framework for Design Excellence is basically the top ten toolkit, that has been rebranded by the AIA and is forming the backbone of much of the policy that the AIA is currently setting.

From the AIA's website: