Championing the
Changemakers

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

Sustainability leadership has requested that you take this quiz to help assess sustainability literacy across the firm. Your own results will be presented to you at the end of the quiz but will not be shared with anyone else. Only aggregated, anonymized results will be available to others.

Please don’t do research to inform your... Read more

We are looking for someone early in their career to take over our green building certifications (mostly LEED).  They will also be helping our office build expertise in other certifications, keeping up with green building ordinances in our markets, and (hopefully) help me answer all those questions about energy codes. 

They do not need... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Whole-Building Life-Cycle Assessment: Taking the Measure of a Green Building.

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


1. Define key concepts of whole-building LCA.
2. Recognize the inherent flaws, and potential gains, of whole-building LCA... 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.

Dear Colleagues,

The EPA has released a very impressive proposal for ENERGY STAR specs for residential water heaters that will strongly encourage electrification and decarbonization of these appliances. 

ENERGY STAR is a voluntary program for high performance appliances and this is a huge opportunity to begin the decarb transition... Read more

Hi all, has anyone come across a comprehensive (and recent) study looking at how long buildings actually last (beyond Stewart Brand)? I know of plenty that look at the benefits of reuse, but none that look at existing building stock and how much has been reused vs. demolished. 

As we start looking at embodied carbon metrics, I can't help... Read more

Following up on one of our conversations on the vision vacuum and sustainability beyond certifications, I would like to help facilitate an offline conversation with anyone working within their firm to use the AIA COTE measures as a guiding framework in their firms/projects. Attached are my slides on my first pass at thinking about this at Page... Read more

Hi everyone!
I've seen a lot of claims over the years of living walls or planted buffers that can mitigate *outdoor* air pollution and have always assumed there's no real scientific basis for that idea, unless we're talking an actual forest that's 10s of feet thick. Am I wrong? Are there examples of living walls that actually have been... Read more

This article just came up in my news feed. I thought you’d all like to read it. I will point out that C&D-specific MRFs have told me that they are really good at single-stream C & D waste, as long as the drywall is pulled out.  Any drywall in a single-stream C & D dumpster ends up in the landfill. Drywall just breaks apart and gets... Read more

Conventional heating systems burn fossil fuels on the building site or use outrageous amounts of electricity.

BuildingGreen-Approved Heat Pumps

The best heat pumps solve both these problems and provide efficient cooling. BuildingGreen approves air-source heat pumps with minimum HSPF and SEER levels of 10 and 20, respectively.... Read more

I am the Moderator of the 2023 Strategic Council and the call for nominations for the 2024-2026 Strategic Council at-large representatives has just been released.  I would encourage any interested parties to apply for this position.

The Strategic Council’s purpose is to develop ideas to inform future needs and opportunities for the... Read more

I have a client that is very interested in automated shades for a mid-rise multi-family housing project. Do you have any examples of projects that have attempted this? I assume it would involve occupancy sensors and/or an over-rideable default setting dependant on sun position and temperature. I also have an MEP Engineer team that is having a... Read more

Hi SD Leaders,

As you may be aware, this past April a group of manufacturers calling themselves the Living Product 50 responded to the letters that many of us sent about five years ago advocating for transparency in their product ingredients.  A copy of that letter can be reviewed about midway through the page at this link:  https://... Read more

All,

Can anyone suggest a product for the following situation.  We are looking to insulate existing aluminum eterior column covers that have a three inch air gap.  The issue is there is no way to remove the covers without destroying them.  we would like to cut small holes, pump in the insulation  and then cap the holes.  Can anyone... Read more

Hi all, 

I'm excited to announce that LHB (my 250-person multidisciplinary firm located in Minnesota and Wisconsin) is hiring a full-time Regenerative Design Leader. I thought this might be helpful for those of you looking for example job descriptions for your own postings, or if you are looking to make a move (we do have an office in... Read more