The sheer number of building product certifications and labels is overwhelming, and even those experienced with green labels can get exhausted trying to figure out which are relevant and which aren’t.

The confusion in the market over green labels can complicate efforts of both manufacturers and design professionals... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

We have an exciting cross-network opportunity coming up next week! Members of the SDL (Design Leaders) and SCL (Construction Leaders) networks will share about their experience at the recent SDL/SCL Summits. We will also preview the Reports for each Summit, and share some news about other events coming up this year.... Read more

Hi folks,

Some of you have seen me do a 5-minute presentation on an initiative to divert urine from wastewater. That team is now developing a building-scale urine treatment technology with support from the National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) award. 

In order to learn more about the sustainable... Read more

Many of you have heard me speak of our foundations effort to host a conference in Houston this November that is focusing on the social and economic side of community resilience preparedness. While we purposely are emphasizing these topic areas, we do see the importance of these conversations being witnessed by the design and planning community... Read more

Evaporative coolers use far less electricity than conventional refrigerant-cycle air conditioners and they operate without the use of refrigerants, both features that make them attractive for green buildings. However, their suitability is limited to drier climates, and most products use significant quantities of water.

BuildingGreen... Read more

Hello SD Leaders!

I recently joined and looking forward to all the amazing dialog. I was told that for membership to be official, I must reveal my unsustainable secret. As much as I preach environmental protection in architecture, I’m a bit of a motorhead with a 1967 HP 289 Mustang that I resurrected from a junk yard when I was 16 — that... Read more

For folks in the Southern New England, New York City area, I wanted to let you know about this interestesting design summit that is focusing on eliminating forced and slave labor in the building materials supply chain. I am not involved in organizing the summit, but I plan to attend. It is at Grace Farms in New Canaan, CT from 9:00 to 5:30 on... Read more

Greetings, green gurus:

Is anyone in this group attending the AIA Annual Business Meeting on Wednesday, June 5 at AIA Conference on Architecture in Las Vegas? If you are, and you're a voting delegate from your AIA Chapter, could you support a floor Resolution recommending that the AIA Board take urgent and sustained climate action? My... Read more

Hi folks,

There was a lot of interest on the call yesterday in the article that Kim showed from a host of leading IAQ experts. I was not able to find a legal way to get a copy that we can share, so if you want it I think it would be appropriate to either pay the $30 for the article (one-day access ??) or $79 for a one-year AAAS... Read more

Hello friends. For the past two years, we at EHDD have been building a low-carbon design tool to support carbon neutral design at the earliest phases of building projects. Today, the Early Phase Integrated Carbon Assessment (EPIC) is ready for public launch! Many of you have been part of our closed beta test, and today we’re happy to open the... Read more

What do you specify for the laboratory countertop? Are there any healthier options I should suggest to my team? Thank you!

July 29-31, 2020
Chicago, Illinois

Learn more and register

Tuesday, Mar. 17, 11am EDT

Tuesday... Read more

I'm in search of anyone who's done a LEED ACP Pilot Credit. It's unclear to me whether using one of these pathways replaces the way the base prereq or credit would function in the rating system being used by a project seeking certification or if it's a strategy to achieve Innovation in Design credits only. The documentation I've been able to... Read more

Hi everyone,

The Summer 2024 SDL Summit on-site lodging (including shared and private rooms) is now full. However, we are excited to announce that we’ve introduced a limited number of commuter tickets for the Summit. If you missed registration for tickets with on-site lodging, you can still attend the Summit by arranging your own lodging... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Counting Carbon: Understanding Carbon Footprints of Buildings.

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


1. Differentiate carbon counting approaches based on regulation or monetization from approaches aiming just to reduce carbon emissions.
2... Read more

B-Boy Newsy

Hi All - I wanted to share out the All For Reuse initiative below by two peers in the sustainable materials management network. I know some SDL have already done much research on this from quite a few angles, and those with LBC experience probably even moreso in practice. 

Frances Yang (Arup) and Andrew Ellsworth (Doors Unhinged) have... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Materials Transparency & LEED.

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


1.  Describe the documentation needed for products to meet the Building Product Disclosure and Optimization: EPDs credit, Option 1 in the LEED v4 BD+C and ID+C rating systems.... Read more