Championing the
Changemakers

Hi folks,

I'm looking into lower-carbon pipe options for HVAC and plumbing. The MEP 2040 has slides from a Buro Happold study in 2020 showing PEX to be much lower in embodied carbon than copper, which is unsurprising. CPVC is also a lower-carbon option.

But PVC has its issues and neither PVC nor PEX are recyclable (especially if... Read more

The ReUse Map created through the Material Flows Working Group is live and got some great traction at Greenbuild (Thank you Nadav and Barbara!).

To keep the map relevant and updated, we'll be looking at how to fund the maintenance of the map, the best ways to get the word out and looking at writing a white paper. If you want to be part... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Improving Resilience!

IMPORTANT: This quiz covers five related articles within this topic. 

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


Are your clients asking you about wellness? You’re not alone. Healthy interiors and wellbeing are the trending buzzwords of sustainable design. Lighting design for circadian rhythm and water filtration methods might be on the... Read more

Has anyone here been involved (taken or taught sessions) in the Healthy Materials Lab Online Certificate program for Healthier Materials? 

https://healthymaterialslab.org/learning-hub/e-learning-online-certifica...

I'm thinking about having some of our staff take this course, especially those that don't have a background in... Read more

Peter Yost (at https://building-wright.com/ )  is available to provide building science expertise, trainings, public speaking, building investigations, and more. Learn more

Dear SD Leaders: The comment period closes January 31st on  NCA Volume II Climate Change Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States.

It's important to have the design communities perspective on these critical issues. I hope you can take a look and submit your comments before the deadline.

Details here: https://www.... Read more

Hi, folks! 

I was recently asked if BuildingGreen could connect prospective speakers to an event organizer in Chicago. Beyond the leaders in the BuildingGreen networks relayed, I wanted to share that the exercise led me to the Women and Climate speaker database: https://www.womenandclimate.co/speaker-database 

When filtering by... Read more

Hi everyone,

Have your projects explored, pursued, or successfully achieved the domestic content bonus for PV systems within the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Investment Tax Credit? I have a project that is considering adding the IRA domestic content requirements and we are trying to understand the nuances and potential challenges (cost... Read more

I can see from the threads that there are at least a few Passive House advocates in this group - I'm wondering about the PHIUS training and certification. Can any who have done it offer an opinion? Is it valuable? Residentially focused? Would it apply to someone in a larger commercial practice? It's an investment of time and $, so I really want... Read more

Team,

https://www.buildingservicesengineersdeclare.com/

See link above, a group of UK building services (MEP) engineers (like us) signed on above, committed to do life cycle carbon (including embodied MEP) in their work.

Are we behind?  Should we match them?  leap frog ahead of them?

Best,

Luke Leung

Meet the winners:

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Green gurus!

We're getting some interest from clients abroad on two specific materials which we don't have experience with here in the U.S.:

1) Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)

and/or 

2) CarbonCure concrete

Anyone willing to share lessons learned on these material either here in the forum or offline? Or point me... Read more

Hello, All,

Does anyone have experience with cove.tool (https://covetool.com/)?  Perhaps for those projects that may not get fully modeled, or as a tool to help set baselines?  It came across our radar recently, and I'm wondering if the subscription might be worth a try.

Thanks! 

Maria

SDLers – For one of our projects we are working with local tribes to procure timber. We would also like to get FSC certification, but haven’t found significant overlap between these two criteria in the Pacific Northwest. There appear to be two certification entities in our area: Northwest Natural Resource Group and Trout Mountain Forestry.  I’m... Read more

Hello,

We’re looking for Design Energy Code Equivalents for Chinese commercial energy codes. Do any of you have  any good sources? I’ve only found data comparing ASHRAE 90.1 2013 to the Chinese Code at that time. We understand the Chinese code require a 65-75% energy savings over the baseline but don’t have good information for defining... Read more

Pipe that delivers domestic water in North America is typically made from copper, chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), cross-linked polyethylene (PEX), all of which present environmental challenges. Bimodal polyethylene  (PE-RT) and polypropylene (PP) are potential alternatives with lower climate and health impacts.
... Read more