Championing the
Changemakers

Under a high carbon scenario, most of North America will be 2 degrees C hotter by 2050. Meantime, we're designing buildings that will still be around in 2050, to codes that don't yet factor in chronic risks associated with climate change. I want to explain these risks to my colleagues; I'm hoping some of our green gurus can help answer the... Read more

Hello, fellow SDLs, 

I wanted to share an opportunity for you - or those in your network - to join a passionate team of architects and designers based in Anchorage, Alaska. I'm told that you'd be asked to join the full team in Anchorage a few times a year for team building events but otherwise you can WFW (work from wherever!).

I... Read more

Greetings Gurus, following the AIA COTE Design for Economy concept, does anyone have a resource for a list of building efficiency ratio "targets" by space type? I've always struggled with this initiative. 

Hello Sustainability Leaders,

Great to see some of you at Greenbuild last week.  Thanks to all who responded to Nadav’s post-election blues post.  Lots of helpful insights and sentiments that left me very grateful to be part of this community.  On a related note, since the election I’ve been asked by people in our office and in life if... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Essential Playbook to Managing LEED Construction.

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


1.  Understand the transition from LEED BD+C or ID+C v4 to LEED v4.1, especially in regard to material-related credits.

2. Discern how to properly... Read more

Ventilation fans, kitchen range hoods, and laboratory fume hoods can use significant amounts of energy from both the fan motor and from venting heated/cooled air out of the building—air that then has to be replaced and conditioned by energy-intensive HVAC systems.

BuildingGreen-Approved Ventilation Fans

BuildingGreen ventilation... Read more

Has anyone here found an alternative to XPS for the void former?

A structural engineering contact was included in recent conversations about embodied carbon in insulation materials and brought to our attention that this is a common use for XPS that has nothing to do with its insulating properties. It is typically used where concrete is... Read more

Hi Fellow GG: I just wanted to make sure everyone saw the great announcement from the White House yesterday about Code updates to address energy efficiency and resilience. It's great to see these kinds of initiatives that hopefully can continue for a few more years. So let's try to take advantage of them (said by someone who lives in Missouri... Read more

It’s here! By popular demand we’re re-running the SDL Salary Survey that we last ran in 2015. 

This is for people who are currently in an SD Leader role at a firm. We’re sending this invitation out on both the Green Gurus and the SD Leaders forums, because some of you are still in transition and haven’t moved into the SD Leader forum yet... Read more

Hi all!

NESEA's BuildingEnergy Boston is happening March 28-29 at the Westin in Boston's Seaport. Would anyone like to meet up there? There are a few happy hour-like events we could meet at in the Trade show space or I'm open to other ideas! Let me know if you're interested. Here is more info: https://nesea.org/conference/buildingenergy-... Read more

This might be going down a rabbit hole, but in moving to California this year I noticed that "zero net energy" (ZNE) is the standard term, whereas "net zero energy" (NZE) was more common back east. The DOE's 2015 definition (below) uses "zero energy building" (ZEB), which to me implies a building uses no energy at all.

Regional... Read more

The EC3 Tool has come up quite a few times in the Green Guru's conversations.  We're hosting an online review with Stacy Smedley and Mark Chen from Skanska.

Wednesday September 29th at 3pm PST

The tickets are free and this will be a Teams meeting.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/using-the-ec3-tool-the-why-and-how-tickets-...... Read more

Hi Green Gurus,

In this stressful time, I think it is important for us to continue to feel connected and supported.  Also, it is difficult to come to terms with the reality of what is happening.  So, I thought it would be helpful for us to share some information about the response of our respective firms to the Coronavirus.

The... Read more

Now that you’ve read “The Urgency of Embodied Carbon,” sign up for BuildingGreen Premium to take the quiz and get continuing education credits with AIA and GBCI.

BuildingGreen Premium includes access to our vast CEU library, including Spotlight Reports, feature articles, and webcasts. We’... Read more

Hello SDL-ers - 

The SDL Climate-Smart Wood Group hosts a monthly online forum for builders all over North America who care about wood - and if that sounds like you, you're invited! As builders, we want to advocate for the conscientious use of wood as part of a holistic commitment to climate justice and resilience. We have been meeting... Read more