Championing the
Changemakers

Hi everyone - in doing a carbon footprint for our firm, does anyone know if buildings that we design as Architects considered scope 3 emissions, or are they beyond the boundary of emissions? LMN's buildings, despite best efforts, are cumulatively multiple orders of magnitude above our scope 1 and 2 emissions. We have never included these... Read more

Does anyone have a "healthy material" exterior bleacher benchtop (beyond natural wood or metal) recommendation for a public high school track and field? 

How do we discern between fiberglass, recycled plastic or HPDE?  Is there a rule of thumb on how to advocate for specifying a "not as bad" material? 

The project is in a coastal... Read more

Hello everyone,

So sorry that some of you couldn't get onto the call on Tuesday! There was a bit of a problem with our Zoom links. I think we've figured it out, so we should be all set next time.

Here are the notes from the call. If you have any questions about something on there, please feel free to post them here and we'll try... Read more

Folks -anyone know if the 179D Commercial Buildings Energy Efficiency Tax Credit will be renewed for this year? The DOE website only references renewal on Jan 1, 2017... I am not holding my breath, but curious if anyone else has heard one way or the other. Thanks!

If any of you did not get this via email directly from the AIA, here is the link to the AIA’s recent letter regarding HFCs…for firms to sign.

https://p2a.co/SlgBxFL

Looking for as many firms as possible to sign!

many thanks.

Mary Ann

Hello all,

I need future weather files for a project. We are looking at three years, 2050, 2075, and 2095 using two climate change scenarios, low emissions, and high emissions. I have seen ARUP's Weathershift site that uses RCP 8.5 and RCP 4.5. Are we assuming that 2.6 is not achievable? I would have used this as a low emissions scenario... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Avoiding the Global Warming Impact of Insulation.

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


1. Define “embodied global warming potential” and “lifetime global warming potential” as they relate to insulation materials.
2. Describe why some... Read more

Hello -

We're hiring two interns this summer. One position is in Urban Design & Planning, the other is an architectural position split roughly equally between our Housing Studio and our Sustainability Resources Group. If you know of potential candidates who might be interested, please forward this link. http://www.seradesign.com/... Read more

Under a high carbon scenario, most of North America will be 2 degrees C hotter by 2050. Meantime, we're designing buildings that will still be around in 2050, to codes that don't yet factor in chronic risks associated with climate change. I want to explain these risks to my colleagues; I'm hoping some of our green gurus can help answer the... Read more

Amal June Polt

Hello Green Gurus,

A close colleague of ours, Frances Yang of Arup, is distributing a survey developed in partnership with the Healthy Building Network (HBN).

The survey asks for which product categories you need more health information. Answers will help inform which product categories HBN next incorporates into its HomeFree and... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Go with the Flows: The Promise and Peril of Hygrothermal Modeling

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


1. Describe the true role of hygrothermal modeling in design.
2. Name four instances in which to consider using hygrothermal modeling... Read more

Are you a design or building professional who wants to learn more about sustainability—such as how to do energy modeling, improve the building envelope, or use renewables on a project? Now more than ever, it's time to join the sustainable... Read more

Hello! Does anyone know of any general contractors who produce a CSR? Is anyone aware of any general contractors who have an ESG rating? If so, what company is being utilized (i.e. EcoVadis) to get the ESG rating?  

Hello fellow sustainable design leaders! I am about to kick off an intensive effort here at EHDD to refine our internal standards for materials. We will be considering both GWP as well as the health of materials (avoiding harmful chemicals). In addition to setting the standards, I will be working to develop a process to vet materials before... Read more

Hi all - I heard from sevearl of you at Greenbuild that you have learned from and perhaps even shared the Path To Zero Carbon series internally at your firms and externally. As I mentioned at Greenbuild, we are attempting to hand off the series to a non-profit, with the idea that groups of experts (including many of you, I hope!) will provide... Read more

Hi there, 

We know some of you have been vetting the Contractor's Commitment within your company and are eager to sign up. Good news--enrollment is now live on the website! Download the form by clicking 'Sign the Commitment' on the right sidebar and return it to me with your logo. Any bets on who will sign up first?

https://www.... Read more