News Analysis
EBN Advisory Board member Mike Nicklas led an international delegation of renewable energy experts in promoting sustainable energy at the Earth Summit last month. He and others were negotiating for inclusion of renewable energy and energy conservation measures into agreements being worked out for the United Nations... 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
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
Forum topic
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
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.
Celebrating BuildingGreen’s Top 10 Products for 2024 Wednesday, January 10 at 2:00pm Eastern (11:00am Pacific) Free to premium BuildingGreen and LEEDuser subscribersThe green building world’s most anticipated awards are almost here!
... Read moreForum topic
Has anyone here performed circadian lighting studies for WELL using rhino/grasshopper (Lark Spectral Lighting)?
It seems that Lark can only simulate circadian metrics for daylighting, and NOT electric lighting. Can anyone shed some light on this? pun intended :)
Are there any other tools out there that would enable us to... Read more
Forum topic
Hi SCL,
I realize that there are already a couple of threads on this topic, but I didn't see anything from the past year. We have been trying (unsuccessfully) to work with large rental companies to request jobsite trailers that are at a minimum energy efficient, and ideally solar/battery ready and/or built to passive house or similar... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Net-Zero Energy Isn’t the Real Goal: 8 Reasons Why!
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
Forum topic
All,
I'm sure a few of you attended our recent webinar on the LEED v4.1 LCA webinar. In case you missed it, the recording is posted. We were stunned by the amount of engagement from the audience; we allotted 30 minutes for questions and I think it went even longer. The webinar recording should be a great starting point for anyone... Read more
Forum topic
Hi Folks, anyone in Boston (or willing to move) this could be a super cool opportunity for you!
https://careers-bpda.icims.com/jobs/1557/senior-resilience-design-reviewer/job?mobile=false&width=805&height=500&bga=true&needsRedirect=false&jan1offset=-300&jun1offset=-240
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Community-Scale Sustainability: Accelerating Change for People and Planet
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
Explain how combining stakeholder efforts and resources can achieve greater resilience and sustainability for communities.
Discuss... Read more
Forum topic
We are looking into organics collection service in our corporate office in NYC. Is anyone else in this group composting at their corporate offices? I'm hoping to build a business case, so I'd like to highlight other firms in this group who are actively managing this process.
Forum topic
I am looking for a Mechanical Engineering firm in New York state who works in mid-sized commercial (ideally hospitality or multifamily experience) and who has experience with geothermal GSHP systems.
Forum topic
Hello Green Gurus,
Here is the information for this month's first Peer Networks Webinar, Previewing the WELL Equity Rating: a roadmap for advancing DEI. So sorry for the short notice - we had a pileup of tech issues and time off. We hope you can still join us!
Register HERE.
Previewing the WELL Equity Rating: a roadmap for... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all --
We have a national restaurant client who is looking to source furniture (indoor and outdoor) with a minimum of 40% recycled/salvaged content from a woman- and/or minority-owned company. They have a strong preference for a company that partners with/participates in community outreach and/or mentoring programs. They also have ... Read more

