Championing the
Changemakers

I’ve been using an app to track my runs and bike rides for a couple of years now. I joined for the mapping and mileage features, but it also shows me how many calories I’ve burned. This means I get to expend an extra calorie or two every workout because the number makes me sigh and roll my eyes.

That’s... Read more

Product category rules (PCRs) are meant to be objective, defining documents that serve as the guidelines for life-cycle assessments (LCAs), which in turn inform environmental product declarations (EPDs). They help promote fairness by ensuring that all the products of the same type are measured with the same yardstick.

... Read more

To some technical experts, the current upsurge in publication of environmental product declarations (EPDs) is too chaotic. For Brendan Owens, P.E., chief of engineering at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it’s a dream that’s just barely starting to come true.

There’s one thing everyone can agree on: EPDs... Read more

Structural products are given a lot of scrutiny because of their potentially significant environmental problems—in particular, cement’s high CO2 output, steel’s high embodied energy, and wood’s ecological impact.

Manufacturers have different ways of mitigating these impacts, and all of these materials have complicated... Read more

This short video primer, produced in partnership with Arup, shows designers how to read environmental product declarations (EPDs). But what do you do with the data once you have it?

We asked leading designers to share how they use EPDs in their practice. Answers fell into four main categories... Read more

One big reason for environmental product declarations (EPDs) is to allow people to compare one product to another: if you put five cladding EPDs side by side, you should theoretically be able to choose the cladding product with the smallest footprint.

Yet experts warn—strongly—against comparing EPDs to... Read more

The new office space for Canada’s Green Building Council (CaGBC) will take up half a floor in Vancouver. It’s a tenant improvement project designed by Dialog.

The team’s goal is to achieve LEED Gold, with a stretch target of Platinum, under the LEED for Commercial Interiors (CI) rating system, version 4.

BuildingGreen spoke with... Read more

The 2015 EBie awards (pronounced EE-bee), sponsored by Urban Green Council, honor the hard work and perseverance that go into green renovations and day-to-day operation of existing buildings.

Though intended to promote material transparency, environmental product declarations (EPDs) are complex documents that can be anything but clear to most architects and other building professionals.

We’ve put together this FAQ to introduce the basics.

To learn how to get key... Read more

EPDs represent a radical transformation for the building industry, and LEED v4 has jump-started that transformation.

An environmental product declaration, or EPD, consists of life-cycle assessment information summarized and repackaged into a shorter, more accessible document. It is formally known as a “Type III... Read more

Pop quiz!

Just one question: what’s the difference between TRACI and CML?

Media coverage of the new Atlanta Stadium has focused on its unique retractable roof, a dramatic and ambitious design by renowned sports architect Bill Johnson, now of HOK (check out this breathtaking fly-through).

Underneath that roof, the tons of concrete used in the structure will probably have as much impact on its... Read more

Cladding is the latest product category for which a general industry product category rule (PCR) has been set, joining others like concrete and flat glass. PCRs designate the rules for life-cycle assessment calculations if they are to be used for environmental product declarations (EPDs).

This cladding PCR is of particular interest... Read more

Even as scientists and the chemical industry are playing catch-up on studying the health impacts of thousands of chemicals, researchers are talking about a new concern: the effect of apparently “safe” chemicals mixing in dangerous combinations.

Even if certain chemicals are generally considered... Read more

The International Code Council has announced that its International Green Construction Code (IgCC) will cease to be an independently developed building code and will instead draw on ASHRAE 189.1... Read more

Sons born to professional cleaners, hairdressers, and lab workers were 68% more likely to develop hypospadias, the condition of having the opening of the urethra on the underside of the penis rather than the tip. The condition can be surgically repaired, but either way, those affected can suffer ongoing urinary and sexual... Read more

Explaining the significance of the acquisition of the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), GBCI’s CEO Rick Fedrizzi said, “Landscaping knits together the fabric of our communities.” GBCI has itself been sewing a patchwork quilt of certification systems, with recent acquisitions or... Read more

Proper air-barrier installation requires careful application and attention to detail, and controlling the quality of liquid membranes and sealants applied to gypsum sheathing onsite can be particularly challenging. To simplify the process, USG and Tremco have teamed up to offer the Securock ExoAir 430 building envelope system... Read more

Formaldehyde is a naturally occurring and ubiquitous VOC—we even produce tiny amounts in our own bodies—but exposure to higher-than-normal levels of formaldehyde can trigger dangerous reactions, including asthma. As an industrial chemical, the substance is known to cause nasopharyngeal cancer, though very rarely. Some studies... Read more

Update: The article now reflects that conveying equipment can contribute toward certain Materials & Resources credits in LEED v4.

Most manufacturers of even the simplest of building products are not yet on board with the rising demand for transparency. ThyssenKrupp Elevator... Read more