Championing the
Changemakers
BuildingGreen champions the changemakers in sustainable design and building, with trusted insight, unparalleled education, and communities that are transforming the industry.
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Product Guide
Preservative treatments extend the service life of wood, but many such treatments are highly toxic, especially to aquatic life.
BuildingGreen-Approved Preserved Wood
Products approved by BuildingGreen use chemicals (commonly borates) that are relatively low in toxicity and have low VOC emissions.
Health and Environmental... Read more
Forum topic
I am working on a new community development in St. Paul that is striving to achieve net-zero energy. We are able to get there mathematically by using the extra generation on light industrial rooftops to offset medium-density housing energy use (all buildings are anticipated to have different, private owners). However, this puts us over... Read more
News Analysis
Forum topic
Hi: I'm writing to share a unique opportunity to make a difference at SCALE as a Sustainability Manager at Amazon Global Services.
This comes from Lisa Matthiessen, FAIA, LEED Fellow who some of you may know. Lisa just joined Amazon's Worldwide Sustainability Team who is charged with making real their Net Zero for all operations by 2040... Read more
Forum topic
Happy new year everyone!
My name is Vandita Mudgal, I am the first ever 'Sustainability Engineer (district)' for Hensel Phelps N. California district (covers Nor Cal and Pacific NW). As mentioned, this is the first ever sustainability position at Hensel Phelps, therefore I am developing a lot of processes and systems for our district... Read more
Quiz
This pre-summit workshop was pre-approved for 5 AIA LUs and 5 GBCI CE hours.
Please complete the survey question to confirm your attendance and receive your CEUs.
By providing your credential numbers in your profile, you will enable us to automatically report these CEUs to the organization. Please check your profile to be sure... Read more
Spotlight Report
When BuildingGreen started publication in 1992, simply finding building products designed with environmental benefits in mind was a big challenge.
In the years since we’ve seen rapid advances in green building materials and products, and manufacturers are beginning to take topics such as embodied carbon and social justice concerns—... Read more
Forum topic
Hi there Hive Mind! Hope everyone's doing well and staying cool in the heatwave all over.
An engineer on one of my projects reached out about contact switches for operable windows that are empowered to shut down the associated FCU in dormitory bedrooms when the window is open. This functionality allows the FCU to run at something like... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all,
As follow-up to the summit, I’m attaching a draft letter on MEP embodied carbon written by our group (Luke, Kristy, Adam). The goal is to start a dialogue with manufacturers to include embodied carbon info for major equipment. Will explain more on the call. Please read in advance if you get the chance!
Thanks!
Forum topic
Hi folks,
We often hear from you with a suggestion of someone who would be great for the network, and a question about how to refer them. We've now made that easy, with three steps laid out in an Outreach Toolkit that's posted in the left margin of the Member Directory.
So, if you're thinking of someone to invite or come across... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Occupant Engagement: Where Design Meets Performance.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Restate at least five methods being used to provide feedback to occupants so that they better understand how to interpret, and respond to, their... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all!
I'm working on my first energy positive / passive house multifamily building and trying to figure out the trash/recycling chute. I am curious what solutions you have employed to make the trash chute air tight? We have excluded the whole chute from the envelope. Do you use airtight doors (and which ones?) at each floor trash/... Read more
Forum topic
Hi everyone,
Happy new year!
The FIRST First Friday Fika* of 2024 is happening this Friday, January 5th from 11am to 12pm ET, hosted by Candace Pearson.
Here is the registration link for the Fikas, or if you've registered previously, you can use the same link for this week.
We look forward to seeing you Friday!
... Read moreForum topic
It's time for our next Peer Networks webinar! Ariane wowed us with her five minutes on future climate data at the Show-and-Tell at HKS in Chicago last November. Now we'll get the deep dive.
Wednesday, May 29, 2:00 pm EDT
Register here: https://www.buildinggreen.com/peer-networks/webinars
Remember--this live webinar is for... Read more
Product Guide
Plug loads—the energy consumed by plugged-in devices—can use a substantial amount of the total energy in both residential and commercial buildings.
BuildingGreen-Approved Controls
BuildingGreen approves products that monitor and reduce electricity use for plugged-in electrical devices.
Plug Loads and Energy Conservation... Read more
Forum topic
This is specifically to Chris but also to anybody who is interested in the topic - which Chris raised on our SAL call today, regarding how to influence change:
From this article, which i thought was good but had a great paragraph pulled below.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/12/business/Steve-Mollenkopf-Qualcomm-corner-office.html... Read more
Forum topic
We have a client for whom we are designing a very high performance manufacturing facility, and they want to communicate their building's performance both dynamically and in real-time within their lobby for guests and staff.
We would like to mine the wisdom of this group to see what recommendations we can muster regarding high quality... Read more
Forum topic
Does anyone here have a draft spec for low embodied carbon concrete they could share? I see the GSA has a standards sheet with MGWP limits, but we are hoping to actually specify the mix for upcoming projects.