Championing the
Changemakers

The overwhelming majority of wallcoverings are flexible vinyl, laden with all the life-cycle concerns that come with PVC. Products used to contain orthophthalate plasticizers—which make up a large percentage of these products. Phthalates are not bound in the material and can slough off in dust, exposing occupants during everyday work or play.... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Energy Modeling: Early and Often.

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


1. Explain how energy codes and standards are pushing commercial projects beyond what they can do without modeling.
2. Describe the energy and cost-savings benefits... Read more

Hi, the SF Dept of Environment is doing some surplus construction materials studies there are surveys for designers and contractors.  They are looking for a wide array of responses, so don't worry if you don't live in that area!

See link for contractor survey if you are interested: 

https://formfacade.com/public/... Read more

I am forwarding this request from Kate Simonen from the Carbon Leadership Forum to support a grant application for this research. I don't know if the link will work in this format but if you have questions or want to sign you can contact me or Kate and I can send you the mail with the link my email is:  lstrain@siegelstrain.com     Thanks... Read more

I had a client ask recently if there is a 'better' global social justice tool than ILFI's JUST for use outside the U.S. 

Personally, I'd look to WELLv2 feature C12 - Organizational Transparency for other options... but personally have very limited knowledge of options c-e.

Do folks have an opinion on if any of these prograams are... Read more

Has anyone seen a comparison between IECC 2021 and previous versions of the energy code, including ASHRAE 2010? I'm curious how far ahead code buildings are relative to LEED v4.0, and how much the latest IECC raises the bar relative to the previous. I did a quick search for the LBNL and other studies that look at this, but didn't see anything... Read more

Check out this new executive order. It is broad and includes a lot of items, but of interest to this group, there are some things in here that we pointed towards in our letter back from the beginning of the year, including 24/7 carbon-free electrical energy, a net-zero emissions portfolio by 2045 and net zero emissions from procurement... Read more

I have a colleague (lawyer) who is trying to assemble a list of precedent projects that used penalties or incentives for achieving energy targets. The topic she is addressing is how contracts may be changed to address growing climate change concerns.

At the moment, the only concrete example she has is a project in Washington by the US... Read more

Hi: SD Leaders.  It was so nice to see so many of you at Greenbuild in Chicago. By now I'm sure all have seen the announcement of the release of the Fourth National Climate Assessment Report vol 2. (https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/) It's well worth a deep read - so much important and extremely informative material. I want to draw your... Read more

Based on current projects, pursuits, and ongoing thought leadership, the following are hot topics across the Stantec Buildings group.

Read on to stay up to date with evolving skills and expertise not only in your own BC but also... Read more

Greetings SDLs - I am looking for recommendations for VLT meters that folks have had sucess with (reliability, accuracy, etc.). Are there any that art partiularly useful when in the field for existing buildings? 

Many thanks,

JD

Hi All,

USGBC MA is doing a study on the cost of net zero energy buildings in MA.  I’m wondering if you all have any data to share on plug loads in ZNE projects. I’m looking for single family res, 2-4 unit residential, +/- 60 unit residential, 10-12 story office, and k-12.  The engineers have presented initial results and their... 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!