News Analysis
A study published in the June 5, 1992, issue of
Science by researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona suggests that smoke emitted into the atmosphere from human activities may be having a significant effect in counteracting... Read more
News Brief
Carol Venolia, Publisher/Editor
If “progressive construction” can be defined as pushing the tools and techniques of conventional builders in the direction of less environmental destruction, then Building With Nature’s material goes beyond progressive, into the forefront of visionary thinking about construction. This bimonthly newsletter, now... Read moreNews 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
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
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
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
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
Forum topic
I'm looking to change consultants. Let me know if you have worked with a 179D consultant that you would recommend.
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of The Four Core Issues to Tackle for Resilient Design (And the Programs That Can Help).
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Use site-specific hazard analysis to evaluate a project’s resiliency demands.
2. Use climate change data to... Read more
Product Guide
Office furniture’s materials and components can come from unsustainable sources, and use adhesives that emit formaldehyde or other volatile compounds.
BuildingGreen-Approved Furniture
BuildingGreen approves tables, desks, and other office furnishings certified to BIFMA’s multi-attribute level 3 standard, which requires low... Read more
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Hello Green Gurus,
Here are all the details about our two Peer Network events in Chicago on Tuesday, June 21st. If you'll be in town, we hope to see you!
From 1-5pm we'll have the Chicago/Midwest Region Mini-Summit, open to members of any of the five Peer Networks (Sustainability Consultants, Community Design Leaders, Contractors... Read more
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
A site license allows your entire organization to access and share the report, and to keep a copy in your library. The site license does not allow multiple users to earn CEUs. If multiple individuals in your organization would like to earn CEUs from this report, please purchase individual copies.
The BuildingGreen Guide to Thermal... Read more
Forum topic
Happy Friday Everyone!
Hoping to add a bit of excitement to the end of your week:
Here is the Sustainable Design Leaders 2020 Summer Summit Report.
Enjoy!
RoseAnn for Nadav, Candace, and the BuildingGreen team
Forum topic
Hello Sustainable Design Leaders,
On October 5th a number of us gathered for the Fall 2021 SDL Virtual Summit and the BuildingGreen team is happy to now share with you all the event report here!
This report can be shared publicly. If you think someone would like to see it, such as firm leadership or prospective Peer Networks... Read more
Forum topic
Reaching out to the collective knowledge here. With interest in circular economy and building reuse growing, is anyone leading the charge for the concept of building reuse as a tool for maintaining community identity? Has anyone seen successful projects with this concept in mind? I was just in a discussion with a bunch of SDLers, and while... Read more
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I'm looking to draft some one-page briefs for my consulting engineers to outline what we would like to see in their specs regarding certain materials and systems. For example, letting the plumbing and civil engineers know that we prefer to eliminate PVC pipe and want them to specify alternatives like Polypropylene, cast iron, ABS, etc. The idea... Read more
Forum topic
Hello All!
We are using TallyCat to extract quantities from our REVIT Model, and bring them over to EC3 to get a model GWP (focusing on material categories required to evaluate ILFI Zero Carbon certification). There are a number of questions that are popping up!!
I am sure there are others trying the same thing, yes... maybe?! ... Read more
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BITuser Meeting: 5/23/18
Participants: Shane, Andrea, Angela
Notes:
Southface to provide "style tiles" before 6/15
Greg to send to Andrea, couple dozen images for Best Practice pages
Southface will send, in week to 10 days, "full content" for BP03 - Energy Audit
(BP03 "full content" will address... Read more
Forum topic
Good Morning;
I wanted to share a resource that everybody might not be aware of - HomeFree by the Healthy Building Network which can be found here: https://homefree.healthybuilding.net/products
Most of us know that HBN exists, but i think many folks just think HBN = Pharos, which is an extensive database behind a paywall that can... Read more

