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

Dear all,

A mechanical engineer on a healthcare project we are working on has asked for help in dividing the ventilation calculations between ASHRAE Standards 170 and 62.1; can anyone here help shed some light on it?

"This is the first time I am working on LEED for a hospital and I am not sure how the template wants me to show... Read more

Greg Calnago

Hi All,

I wanted to share a program of superstars including many of you.  I look forward to electronically connecting and learning together.

Every Monday from June through August, the Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) and the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) Boston Hub will present Embodied Carbon 101, a 12-part program series in... Read more

Hi all,

We're seeing more interest and desire for outdoor work spaces, and as we consider the design implications around working outdoors, teams have been asking about wind comfort. We've tested Ingrid Cloud and now SimScale. I'm curious if anyone would recommend any other CFD tools that are geared toward architects? Also curious if... Read more

Hi Green Commons,

It’s been eerily quiet here since Tuesday night. I’ve been quiet mostly because I just didn’t know what to say. The election results are certainly a blow to pretty much everything we’ve been working for. There is so much we don’t know about things might play out, but I’m feeling a range of emotions ranging from... Read more

Were we given any warning that LEED Online and USGBC.org would be down for a week?  

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting is an increasingly common expectation throughout financial sectors, and the real estate industry is no exception. 

This live webinar with our friend Chris Pyke, Ph.D., a senior vice president... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Stone, The Original Green Building Material.

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


1. Explain how stone is natural and durable, emits no VOCs, requires almost no maintenance, and provides a connection to the earth and our history.
2.... Read more

Hi folks,

It came up on the Regional Leaders call this week that many people aren't aware that we added a link to the BuildingGreen Communities in footer of BuildingGreen.com. So if you want an easy way to get to the forum page, other than clicking on a link in an email, there it is! (Thank you, Stephen Endy!)

The footer has a... Read more

Has anyone seen a comparison between IECC 2021 and previous versions of the energy code, including ASHRAE 2010? I'm curious how far ahead code buildings are relative to LEED v4.0, and how much the latest IECC raises the bar relative to the previous. I did a quick search for the LBNL and other studies that look at this, but didn't see anything... Read more

Hi SDLers,

We’re really looking forward to connecting with many of you in a few weeks for the Summer Summit. Those of you who have registered are now actively helping to set the agenda--as always, it will be filled with rich conversations and connections.

For a range of reasons--new patterns due to the pandemic, the economy, your... Read more

Re: 310 CMR 78.00: Ban of Covered Products Containing Certain Flame Retardants. This law took effect as of April 01, 2021, and is enforced by Mass DEP. 

Quick Summary: Law bans 11 types of chemical flame retardants from... Read more

HI MEP Leaders,

Related to our thread about equipment needed for decarbonization, I have a question about what new or improved equipment is already available now that you're excited about.

Every year we at BuildingGreen publish (and present at Greenbuild) a listing of the Top-10 new and exciting products. Our focus this year is on... Read more

Now that Ben has set up access restrictions, we have to decide what message to put on "paywall" screens. For example, on the Best Practices pages, the "Official language" tab is fully accessible, but if an anonymous user clicks on any of the other tabs they'll hit a login wall:

https://live-bituser.pantheonsite.io/best-practice/energy-... Read more

Interior luminaires often use inefficient, outdated technology such as compact fluorescent or halogen lamps, some of which contain mercury and have poor light quality and limited controls.

BuildingGreen-Approved Lighting

BuildingGreen lists lighting products using LEDs (light-emitting diodes) from manufacturers whose luminaires... Read more