Welcome to Environmental Building News

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

Interview with Susan Maxman, President, AIA 20 June 1992

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

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

Have any of you come across aqueous ozone product for hand sanitation?  https://www.3oescientific.com/

This company is selling to hospitals/schools.  May indeed be awesome, but so many "totally safe" products are proven not to be. Curious if this group has seen it or have looked at it's claims.

HI All,

Really hoping to get some insight from all you wonderful people on how the Sustainability teams are set-up in your construction companies. As mentioned in my introduction post, I am the first ever Sustainability Engineer hired by my company.....until now all the work was handled by project teams. Which worked for them in the... Read more

Hi Green Gurus,

We are convening our first Regional Coordinators quarterly call Thursday, July 21 2-3pm ET (11am-12pm PT). Anyone who might be interested in this role is welcome to join. We’ll give you more specifics, answer any questions, and create our list of representatives for each region. We’ll finish by looking ahead at what to... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

Back at the retreat in March 2021 (does anyone remember back that far?), we formed an Air Quality Working Group with members from SDL, SMEPL, and SCL. Drawing on our collective experience, standards, research, and other resources, we began navigating the murkiness of indoor air quality considerations. We came up with a... Read more

Hello Everyone!

Please see attached are the Flip Chart Notes from last week's 2018 SDL Summer Summit.

Enjoy~

RoseAnn

Hello friends, Posting this to help out a friend that you all know!

(please reply directly to Kira at her email below) Tx

Dear Gurus, 

I am curating/hosting a panel at CarbonPositive RESET:

DESIGNED FOR CLIMATE: A New Construction Showcase

North & South America: September 8, 2020 | 4:45-5:25pm (PST)

... Read more

Are you ready to share the story about your best projects?

AIA COTE Top Ten Awards is a great way to get recognition for your best work and the call for submissions for the 2024 cycle is now open!

The awards cycle has shifted, and the deadline for the 2024 awards is October 26.

So NOW is the time to pull together... Read more

Here's a file upload.

Hello, folks! We recently had contact with Northeastern University about sand. I know it sounds ... dry. But sand shortages are a serious issue globally and are leading to criminal activity everywhere and even "sand mafias" in poorer nations without resources to enforce mining laws.

The ask from Northeastern is that BuildingGreen amplify... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Design for Adaptation: Living in a Climate-Changing World.

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

 

1. Identify the major known causes of climate change
2. Describe the range and reliability of predicted temperature changes.
3. List... Read more

THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. Wednesday, February 7 at 2:00pm Eastern (11:00am Pacific)

You’ve probably heard that wood products are carbon neutral. You might also have heard that timber harvesting causes immense carbon emissions.

Which is it?

Could it be both?

... Read more

Please see the following invite from Professor Alexandra Rempel at the University of Oregon to participate a 15-20 minute phone/Zoom interview and share your experience and/or perceptions on the problems, challenges, and barriers to incorporating into your projects.

This effort is part of an NSF research grant that I am involved in and... Read more

I am dual posting a topic from the SDL forum in the Green Commons. Sorry to those who see this twice but I'm trying to cover more ground.

The first post from Mike Manzi ... 

SDLers,

Great to see many of you at Greenbuild! It was nice to have the opportunity to remind everyone how our collective energy continues to make a... Read more

Small Firm Sustainable Design Leaders –

I find it hard to believe calls for session proposals are already out for next year’s AIA Conference on Architecture.  I feel like I just got back!

At my firm, we try to have all principals and associates to submit a proposal each year.  I had a couple of take-aways from this year’s... Read more