Curious to see if your firms have researched metals and established a preference for what you use for roof and wall panels?  I'm interested in ranking environmental performance for painted steel, galvanize steel, weathered steel, painted aluminum, zinc, etc.

With the current push for improved window performance to meet energy codes and Passive House, room side low-e coatings can significantly improve window U-values. However, back in 2018 Payette did this excellent study that showed that while room side low-e coatings improved window U-value and increased the interior radiant temperature, the... Read more

Metal windows are used in commercial building because of their durability, low maintenance, and ability to handle wind loads.

BuildingGreen-Approved Windows

Metal windows must achieve an NFRC-certified unit U-factor of 0.20 or lower to be approved by BuildingGreen.

Manufacturers also must demonstrate that their highest-... Read more

CALL for applications: national COTE Leadership Group

We need you! Or the dedicated, enegetic people you know ... 

Please consider encouraging applications (or applying yourself) for the the COTE Leadership Group. 

We have 2 1-year slots this year ... plus 3 3-year slots ... and we are looking for a diverse slate (diversity... Read more

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...

Hey there hive mind,

I'm hoping y'all can help me as I coach one of my colleagues along his path to develop into whoever he's supposed to be when he grows up. He's interested in focusing on the analysis and innovation side of sustainability and I honestly don't know where to send him for networking with other like-minded people beyond my... Read more

Happy new year everyone!

My name is Vandita Mudgal, I am the first ever 'Sustainability Engineer (district)' for Hensel Phelps N. California district (covers Nor Cal and Pacific NW). As mentioned, this is the first ever sustainability position at Hensel Phelps, therefore I am developing a lot of processes and systems for our district... Read more

Hi everyone - I will be holding my breath and attending the AIA conference in person this June. Is anyone else going? I'd love to reconnect with each of you!

Apologies if I've missed it - with there be a BuildingGreen meetup?

Feel free to email me if you don't want to reply all - kanderson@lmnarchitects.com

-Kjell

Wondering if we can have a dialog on HVAC load calculation software... we are currently still using Trane Trace 700, but with the future migration to Trace 3D+ coming are looking into other options. Never used HAP but I haven't heard great things, and we dabbled in IES VE for a while, but went back to Trace since at that time there was no... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of What Makes a Product Green?.

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


1. List and describe at least three attributes that address each of the following categories: "efficient use of materials"; "responsible sourcing"; "energy and water... Read more

Auto-quiz used for CEUs for attendees of the 2023 SCL Wintger Summit.

So I was testing assigning a BIT Expert to a Best Practice and I am having trouble getting the profile image to appear.  

When I upload a profile picture, it appears on the standard profile page from "My Account" but when I navigate to the BIT Best Practice 01, the image does not show and it takes me to another profile page that does... Read more

I am brushing up on current tools for local government greenhouse gas inventories and was wondering if any of you have used the EPA's Local Government Greenhouse Gas Inventory tool? Download the Local Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tool | US EPA 

Some of my immediate questions include: 

Is the EPA tool straightforward to use?

Are... Read more

Hi, curious if anyone in the group has considered using Fitwel in an existing (built) school project (K-12). 

Would be interested in hearing your experiences and if this tool is a good fit for this type of project.

Hi Fellow SD Leaders: This webinar from the AIA and the Building Resilience Coalition looks highly relevant and with some great speakers. It's free and open to all (I think...not sure how AIAU works for non-members.)

Free climate change risk webinar 10/23

Join members of 52 organizations of the Resilience Building Coalition for... Read more