Untreated rainwater leaving a developed site is effectively a chemical spill, laden with pollutants that include oil, sediment, heavy metals, nitrogen, and phosphorous. The heat carried by stormwater is also harmful to fish and other aquatic organisms.

BuildingGreen-Approved Systems

We approve systems that:

I'd love to hear thoughts from the design, consulting, and contracting firms in this group about ways to make our specs more inclusive, or at least less exclusive to minority and women owned contractors and subcontractors and others that have not had the benefit of what a recent "Equity in Specs" presenter termed the "Fathers / Brothers / In-... Read more

Hey all,

Question for those of you who do in-house daylight analysis about modeling translucent glazing.

We use ClimateStudio for our modeling. It has plenty of material options for clear glazing but nothing for translucent glazing, and we are trying to understand the impacts of a translucent interlayer at some skylights. We can... Read more

Please share this info with any contacts you have that you think would be a good candidate for our Design Performance Coordinator position -- Thanks!

Design Performance Coordinator in San Antonio

Welcome to the quiz portion of Making Windows Work Better.

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


1. Understand when window attachments may be used in lieu of window replacements.
2. Summarize why optimal management of heat loss and gain may require both interior and... Read more

Hello all,

I've been in communication with a few of you already, but for those who don't know me - my name is Jen and I'm a new member of the BuildingGreen team helping out with the Peer Networks. I've already been learning a lot, and I'm looking forward to getting to know the SDL Network and its members better!

Here are the... Read more

Hi SDL: sorry to send another missive so soon but I wanted all to be aware of a great new effort just announced today coming from Greg Kats and Vivian Loftness among others - The Smart Surfaces Coalition. This effort brings together resources and research around city-scale resilience. "The Coalition is committed to the rapid, cost-effective... Read more

Remember 2013? LEED version 4 had just been released to the public. Hardly anyone was using it, though—not only because they didn’t have to, but also because there just wasn’t a pathway to achieve many of the new credits in the rating systems. Especially the product-related credits in the Materials & Resources category, along with the Low-... Read more

Does anyone know of a good summary of state and local energy code adoption for new building and ordinances for existing buildings? I know of this energycodes.gov site, but it feels somewhat misleading when you dig into it. For example, in CO, it suggests there is no min code, but there is, and it doesn’t show the extent to which local govs are... Read more

Hi All,

I wanted to share an exciting opportinity with this esteemed group: Placetailor is seeking out a Mechanical Engineer to add to their growing team. They are located in Boston, MA and focus on Passive House, Low-energy Design, and they have for two years running meet the tenets of the AIA 2030 Commitment! This is an exciting place... Read more

Hi All,

I've been signed up to give a Green Building Rating Systems overview presentation to Clean Energy Interns this summer.  I thought I'd reach out and see if anyone has an updated overview presentation like this already pulled together that they'd be willing to share. It's been a while since I've given a presenation on this topic. ... Read more

Good morning SALs! Nicole's survey on restrooms inspired me to post a survey of my own.

I’ve been trying to stay useful lately. I've been posting new writing on the industry, much of it complimentary, over on Roberts’ Green Letter. (Yesterday I posted the mission statement, explained via brand-new-puppy pics.)

I have a 1-minute... 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,

As you may know the ICC has changed the way the IECC will be written in the future and most of us think that will reduce the stringency of the future energy codes that are the biggest lever in the fight against climate change within the buildings sector.

So one of the best pathways forward is via ASHRAE, which has a... Read more