Championing the
Changemakers

SDL Group -

Hi all!  After a brief hiatus from the group to move from New Orleans to Portland (OR), start a new job at ZGF Architects, buy a house, and  see my baby boy become a toddler (all in the past year!)---- I'm ready to plug back into the group.  Seeing folks at the ILFI conference re-energized me to reengage :)

So…..does... Read more

Hello Sustainable Construction Leaders!

I have an exciting announcement today, fall Peer Network events are now open for registration! You can see all the event details and register here!

Based on feedback we received from past events and the most recent surveys, we decided against doing one long week of events for this fall and... Read more

Hey Gurus:

I have a client who is interested in reporting to their superiors on the status on energy codes in different states across the US. They are hoping to find some kind of summary that might show relative costs for HVAC systems under the various energy codes in effect across states. They are also interested in data that is... Read more

Hi all - 

I have heard a good deal about SBTI in the last while and am wondering about this group’s firms’ engagement with them. We reported one year through CDP, and it was not very useful. It focused entirely on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, which are over 1000x times less than our semi-controllable Scope 3 (buildings’ embodied carbon and... Read more

Hello All,
Checking in on experience with Armstrong's Tectum E-N with NEOPOR Graphite polysytrene GPS rigid foam insulation core in roof panels for exposed structure?
BASF says that NEOPOR uses up to 30% less material than other rigid foam; it is greenguard gold cerified. 

Interesting that the NEOPOR increases in R-value as... Read more

Hi all, 

Thank you again to those of you who attended the Spring 2024 SCL Summit! We had an amazing day of learning from one another, including from our presenters.

The slides for the 5-minute presentations are below, as well as the BuildingGreen slides from the Summit. Please be aware that we have permission from all of the... Read more

Some plasters have extremely high embodied energy or petroleum-based ingredients.

BuildingGreen-Approved Plaster

Products approved include:

natural lime plasters wall coatings made from ingredients such as clay, sand, and cellulose products with high recycled content those with minimal material use some with other compelling... Read more

Team,

Many of you saw the BlackRock letter.

https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter

Should we hold our consultants and suppliers accountable for climate change?

Best,
LL

Design assemblies that live up to their potential Course developer Peter Yost explains how high-performance assemblies are fundamentally different from traditional building assemblies.

High-performance buildings integrate site-responsive orientation, climate-responsive form, hefty R-values, efficient mechanical systems, healthy... Read more

Discarded tires are an environmental disaster, and finding a beneficial use for them is a high priority.

BuildingGreen-Approved Resilient Flooring

BuildingGreen does not approve any flooring product that is made with tire-derived rubber, though some products may be appropriate for exterior use.

Environmental and Health Impacts of... Read more

Hey Everyone!

We are delighted to share a major milestone in our commitment to sustainable design. After two+ years of intensive research, refining, and internal application, NBBJ is thrilled to announce the external launch of ZeroGuide, an innovative tool for early-phase carbon estimation, now available to the entire AEC community!... Read more

Hello SMEPers,

I’m hoping to crowd source some anecdotes for a guest lecture I’ll be giving at Yale’s architecture school. The topic is integrated design (especially between architects and engineers) and how it enables better sustainability outcomes.

John Boecker has this great story about how choosing a paint color with higher... Read more

Here is your friendly reminder to complete the SCL Salary Survey if you have not yet.

There is a link at the end of the SurveyMonkey Survey to a Google form where you will be able to register that you completed the survey—that way we’ll know who participated without having any identifying info in the actual survey. Results will be shared... 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

It's official!

https://www.aia.org/showcases/181011-nadav-malin-hon-aia?utm_term=30014108--1cf43a8a-c646-4d26-8f90-3661099d9005

see you in June!

Mary Ann

Hi Gurus,

We are having a hard time sourcing a baby changing table that is free of anticmicrobial coatings. KoalaKare, the predominate manufacturer, includes Microban in both their plastic and stainless steel product options.  Does anyone have any experience with a durable, ADA compliant and readily available baby changing table free of... Read more