Championing the
Changemakers

Hi! Over the last 10 years, the firm where I work in Boston has predominately designed housing & senior living projects in the the Boston Metro region, with the occassional project in NH, CT, RI, and NY. We have built projects as far south at DC, but never designed anything to my knowledge in California in our 55 years of operation. 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

Hey all,

At the retreat, many of you spoke to me about wanting to learn more about our Foundations Resilience event in Houston in November. As it happens, our website just went live and I thought that I would share it with the whole group. Registration (for those interested) will be up and running very soon, but this should give you a... Read more

Hey team,

I'll go look to see who's in the MEP group, but does anyone in this circle have a northern California design engineer for institutional work that they'd particularly recommend? A group of folks we're engaged with is apparently having difficulty identifying a California-based MEP that everyone universally likes for high-... Read more

This is something I have been tracking since last year. The same or similar bill was introduced in 2022 but failed by one vote. This would mandate carbon reporting for any company with revenue of $1B or more AND which does business in California. Unlike the upcoming SEC reporting requirements, this would apply to both private and public... Read more

I'm advising a nonprofit organization (the Retreat Farm) on whose board I sit that is renovating a large, 8,000 sf, 19th Century barn into a large community meeting space and wedding venue. We are looking for a source of either folding or stacking chairs that are durable, low-maintenance, and environmentally responsible. We may be seeking... Read more

Returning to work: for many, it’s unthinkable without some kind of reassurance that leadership and the facilities team have taken all possible precautions. Lots of organizations are weighing in on what we should pay attention to, but how do we know if it’s working?

The free Re-entry program from Arc is a tracking and measurement... Read more

I am looking for a Mechanical Engineering firm in New York state who works in mid-sized commercial (ideally hospitality or multifamily experience) and who has experience with geothermal GSHP systems.

Short notice – apologies in advance.

Please review the new Guide following the instructions on the first page of the attached draft and using the attached spreadsheet. Comments will be accepted until February 16th at noon EST

Use the Excel spreadsheet to compile your comments if you have any, and return them to me by Feb 15th COB... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of The Four Core Issues to Tackle for Resilient Design (And the Programs That Can Help).

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


1. Use site-specific hazard analysis to evaluate a project’s resiliency demands.
2. Use climate change data to... Read more

For those of you who are close to CLT and mass timber, has the jump in US wood price also impacted the pricing of CLT on your projects, or viability of CLT compared to the cost of steel or concrete frame buildings?  

If anyone has price data comparing CLT today to pre-Covid pricing or any metric that would describe the percentage change... Read more

Does anyone have any research studies they could share on the effect of construction/renovation noise and activity on employee productivity?  I'm trying to make a case for the measurable negative impacts of having ongoing renovation construction activity in an office environment.  Thanks!

I have been asked to recommend folks to join the AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence.  The AIA Framework for Design Excellence is basically the top ten toolkit, that has been rebranded by the AIA and is forming the backbone of much of the policy that the AIA is currently setting.

From the AIA's website:

Following my retirement from BuildingGreen, I’m also looking to retire from the nonprofit Resilient Design Institute, which I’ve been leading since 2012. My default plan is to sunset the organization in the fall of 2024, but I wanted to offer the idea of someone (or multiple people) taking over the organization.

RDI is incorporated as a... Read more

Wood decking requires potentially hazardous preservatives and stains, and plastic waste is a significant environmental problem.

BuildingGreen-Approved Decking

Composite decking approved by BuildingGreen has at least 50% total recycled content. For plastic decking, post-consumer content has to be greater than 50%.

Health and... Read more

Hello Green Gurus!

Thank you to all who joined the cross-networks adventure that was the Sustainability Leaders Week: 2021 Summit-Palooza, all of us at BuildingGreen were so glad to share that time and space with you all.

We have been receiving a few questions about next steps, here are a couple details we wanted to share with you... Read more