Championing the
Changemakers

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/06/04/new-china-policies-spark-di...

New China policies spark disarray in region’s recycling industry
Buried in the mountains of refuse at Casella’s recycling plant in Charlestown are tons of material that should have gone straight to the landfill — from tires and pots to lobster buoys and... Read more

Water and electrical metering and submetering equipment provide valuable diagnostic information and verification of building energy and water usage.

Measuring Water Use

The Alliance for Water Efficiency recommends metering all new connections, retrofitting meters onto existing unmetered connections, and submetering all new... Read more

Hey Team,

Has anyone had experience either taking or delivering a Carbon Cure CEU that ISN'T from Carbon Cure? We have a project for which Carbon Cure is a really good option to reduce embodied carbon, but the client has now started having second thoughts and we're looking to get them a CEU on it that isn't from Carbon Cure directly so... Read more

Hi All,

Elkus Manfredi Architects in Boston is looking to fill a few positions -if you know of anyone looking in the Boston area, plesae let me know or send them my way. Kfritsch@elkus-manfredi.com

Specifically looking for an entry-level person with specialized expertise in parametric modeling, conceptual energy modeling and... Read more

Hope I'm posting this in the right place.  I have a client who's interested in estimating the embodied carbon of multiple buildings (primarily apartment buildings) they own and operate.  Not sure if I'll have access to drawings or area takeoffs of materials for their buildings.  How would you approach this?  Would appreciate input on resources... Read more

Hi,

I believe a while back there was communication about a hard hat recycling program. Does anyone have any information about a hard hat recycling program? The contractors in the midwest have finally switched to the new style of hard hats with the chin strap and are requiring all subcontactors to comply by July 1, 2024. I'd like to... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Finding Furniture Without Toxic Flame Retardants.

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


1. Explain why avoiding toxic flame retardants is important.
2. Explain how we were swindled into dosing our buildings and our bodies with flame... Read more

Hi: Is anyone individually or at a firm level offsetting their travel through Certified Emissions Reduction (CER) or Verified Emissions Reduction (VER) credits? I'm trying to research a valid approach to doing this and running into a few different options - some even with apps. I'd appreciate any wisdom from this great group.

Thanks.... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Introducing Fitwel v2.1!

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


1.  Explain the purpose of the Fitwel standard, including how it advances the goals of health and well-being of building occupants—as well as public health.

2. List nine ways in... Read more

Hi MEP Leaders,

We had a great conversation in our last monthly call about the function and purpose of this group, and what we can best do together. You can see detailed notes from that call here. And we'll soon be sending out a reminder about the October call (Tuesday, Oct 8, 2pm eastern).

One of the ideas from that conversation... Read more

Hello,

This is not my area of expertise but our contactor has suggested central heat pump hot water (CHPHW) is $1m more expensive than gas fired domestic hot water for a 150 unit multi-family residential building in Massachusetts. The Building Decarbonization Practice Guide is extremely helpful but, from their comments, it is all coming... Read more

I am excited to announce that BuildingTransparency.org just launched downloadable specs and associated guidance that a couple of us have been working on for a few months.  Here is the EC3 announement:

Dear SDL,

After almost 12 years at Sasaki, I have finally decided to leave for a path slightly-less-traveled. My own development project in Boston (passive house, ZNE condos) is in construction and I will be focusing my attention on that over the course of this year, and then hoping to continue doing similar integrated... Read more

Alena Jumplot

Hi SMEP Leaders,

Our next monthly call is Tuesday, June 13 at 2:00 pm Eastern.

We've had a great series of conversations over the past year kicked off by short presentations from you all: interesting projects, confounding questions, emerging technologies and design strategies. It would be great to line up some more of those for... Read more