Championing the
Changemakers

Hi all - I am in need of specification language for wood sourced from tribally owned and managed forests. Does anybody have examples they would be willing to share? I would be so greateful! thank you

Hi all,

I am working on a Div 01 sustainability spec section for our firm to include by default on all projects. I've been finding a lot of great sample language out there for embodied carbon measures and material transparency (huge thanks to anyone here who had a part in developing those resources). 

One thing I'd like to include... Read more

Wondering if we can have a dialog on HVAC load calculation software... we are currently still using Trane Trace 700, but with the future migration to Trace 3D+ coming are looking into other options. Never used HAP but I haven't heard great things, and we dabbled in IES VE for a while, but went back to Trace since at that time there was no... Read more

Team SCL,

This was a tough week. My husband coined a phrase "20% laid off."

Unfortunately, 50% of our business is currently impacted by governmental orders stating that our work is non-essential. This is bitter-sweet. I certainly want people to be safe, but we've had to make some tough decisions and in the geographies that were... Read more

Lauren Shumaker (Turner Construction) and I are starting a group to focus on improving the submittal process, currently focused specifically on healthy & sustainable materials and the use of the mindful Materials library. The purpose of this working group would be to align project management and LEED project software (ex: Procore, CMiC,... Read more

Seeking Pros/Cons, Feedback/Commentary about signing the US Architects Declare Commitment. 

https://us.architectsdeclare.com/

Reviewing against the "shoulds" and "shalls" of the 2020 AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct ... and other commitments that are out there ... any feedback welcome.

Tips for how your workflow... Read more

Greetings to the Green Commons!

Those of you who attended Greenbuild may remember that during one of the keynotes, Ali Zaidi - White House National Climate Advisor, announced that the White House was developing a definition for "Zero Emissions Buildings" (here’s a [LINK] to a related Washington Post article). The draft language for the... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of The Problem with Net-Zero Buildings (and the Case for Net-Zero Neighborhoods).

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


1. Describe several unintended consequences of focusing on net-zero-energy buildings.
2. List at least three advantages... Read more

Mary Ann Lazarus

Hi all,

We have an institutional client who has tired of LEED and is instead putting forth EarthCraft Light Commerical as a replacement certification (they like the performance verification & lower cost that ECLC provides).  Has anyone used ECLC? It seemed an odd choice but wanted to hear from others on their experiences. The... Read more

Hi all,

Here's a good follow up to Maria's steel question on Monday.  We have a Midwest project that unfortunately (from a carbon perspective) is required to use a traditional, thick precast facade.  We’re working with the contractor and potential future (not yet bid out) fabricators to determine an appropriate % of pozzolanic material... Read more

The Getting to Zero Forum is happening next week in Minneapolis, Minnesota (my home state!). Anyone else from this group planning to attend in person? I'm especially curious as the Forum comes so quickly on the heals of the Living Future Conference.

As a proud Minnesotan, I have a hard time imagining how anyone could ignore an... Read more

Curious what people's 'best' experiences or recommendations are for load calculations and energy modeling regarding electrochromic glazing... hoping I can lean on others as it's just now becoming more of a talking point in our market here in Omaha. 

Specific questions including whether load and energy modeling software are separate (... Read more

Hello all,

Thank you so much for your work on the Contractor Commitment. In preparation for the Summit, we've pulled all of the sections together into one cohesive document. We would like to invite everyone in the SCL network to review and comment on this latest draft so that we can compile comments before Wednesday and make the most of... Read more