Championing the
Changemakers

The Sustainable Design Leaders peer group brings together the most committed sustainable design directors from leading architecture firms throughout the U.S. and Canada. We invite you to apply for membership.
We look for the... Read more

https://www.usgbc.org/articles/us-green-building-council-celebrates-2021-class-leed-fellows

I'm sure you will see many familar names on the list - not the least of which is our fellow SMEPL:  Sarah Gudeman.

Congratulations, Sarah - well done!

As I mentioned in my five-minute presentation this morning and then discussed a little more in the break-out on RELi that followed, the full RELi Rating System, in its current form, has now been posted online: http://anyflip.com/zyqc/mdir/

Unfortunately, this is only posted as a flipbook, currently (viewable online only), and isn't... 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

Hello everyone,

Wondering if anyone has evaluated/considered/specified wood fiber insulation for use in lieu of mineral wool as the exterior wall insulation?  Am mostly looking to better understand domestic availability, r-value and fire/combustibility.

We have a multi-family building in DC where the client is interested in using... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Engineering a Wood Revolution

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


1. Compare engineered wood to steel and concrete; and describe how engineered wood offers better dimensional stability, less waste, and more consistent performance than... Read more

Does anyone have install experience with Duracryl yet? I'm looking at it for a large project in place of Marmoleum. We've had multiple instances of install failures with Marmoleum, which leads to lots of finger pointing. 

Interior luminaires often use inefficient, outdated technology such as compact fluorescent or halogen lamps, some of which contain mercury and have poor light quality and limited controls.

BuildingGreen-Approved Lighting

BuildingGreen lists lighting products using LEDs (light-emitting diodes) from manufacturers whose luminaires... Read more

Greetings, all SDL members who will be attending the AIA Minnesota conference November 8-11, including some who may be attending Nadav and Gwen's workshop on Tuesday November 8th! I'm organizing a meetup in downtown Minneapolis for SDL/Green Gurus folks. It will take place Monday, November 7th at around 6pm. Let me know if you are interested by... Read more

I am still basking in the afterglow of this week's summit, and getting ready to share nuggets of wisdom with my colleagues at our all-staff next week. I was so immersed in the moment that documenting the outlines and choices presented for breakouts slipped my mind. Is there somewhere to access these slides to refresh my memory?

Thanks... Read more

If you want to know more about the MEP 2040 Challenge, our first quarterly forum will be held on March 18th, 2022 11 am to 1 pm Eastern, and will be discussing decarbonization in the MEP space.  See link below for the agenda and registration.

https://network.carbonleadershipforum.org/civicrm/mailing/view?id=206&reset=1

I... Read more

We have a project that is looking for plaster/stucco/textured wall products that are sustainable, or “more sustainable.”

I know these products exist, but I haven’t had to spec or work with any, so I’m reaching out.

The project is in MA, so I'm also soliciting recommendations for products and/or companies who are experienced using... Read more

With extensive environmental science research background, Elene Drosos provides contemporary commentary on the current climate affairs. She contributes up-to-date trends and shifts in regulations in major green building issues such as LEED and natural disasters. Her passion is to strive for biophilic design where native landscapes can dominate... Read more

Hello SCL, 

I have a slightly different ask than my usual Contractor's Commitment announcements.

Our newest writer, Elizabeth Waters, and I are researching for a BG article about construction emissions and jobsite carbon for BuildingGreen.com

In particular, we are trying to research how much of a building’s lifetime carbon... Read more