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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BuildingGreen Report
News Analysis
While governments continue to adopt “buy clean” procurement policies, a newer race is on to limit embodied carbon through codes. But the fate of the effort is uncertain.
The urgency of curbing embodied carbon, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with building materials, continues to escalate. Voluntary rating systems have been working away at the issue for more than a decade. More recently, states like California, several cities, and some U.S. agencies started adopting “buy clean” policies... Read more
News Brief
Urban Mining Industries’ Pozzotive glass pozzolan can replace portland cement in concrete and is now a Concrete Innovation Award winner.
Pozzotive glass pozzolan won a 2023 Innovative Product or Service award at the recent National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) conference in Las Vegas. As part of NRMCA’s Build With Strength sustainability initiative, the organization gives out awards for products that show a “commitment to improving the resilience,... Read more
News Analysis
In a new strategy, the EEOC plans to tackle workplace discrimination in industries lacking in diversity, including construction.
The construction industry has a diversity and discrimination problem, and in January, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) took formal notice. In its recently proposed Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP), effective from 2023 through 2027, the EEOC explains that it will prioritize discrimination cases in certain industries,... Read more
News Brief
Architects want to design for future weather, but the data aren’t formatted with them in mind.
There is now more information available than ever about how our climate is likely to change. Why aren’t architects using those projections to design safer, more resilient buildings?
The University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership (MCAP) and HGA recently conducted a study to answer that... Read more
Product Guide
Interior paint can be a source of VOCs and other contaminants, and some may not be durable enough for intended applications. Interior paints have to balance low emissions and toxicity with durability and performance. If paint needs to be reapplied too often, it wastes resources and exposes workers and building occupants to additional VOCs.... Read more
Op-Ed
Three Millennials and ten members of Gen Z share scorching, optimistic, and skeptical thoughts about their future and the future of the planet.
When I was a kid in the ’80s, the constant threat of nuclear apocalypse kept my friends and me up at night. At the same time, the probability of full-scale thermonuclear warfare was small. So we kids put our trust in the adults in power and forgot about it most of the time. Anxious nights aside, we listened to Casey Kasem on... Read more
News Analysis
Even constrained urban sites offer biodiversity and equitable access to nature, and winners also include a city park, a nature center, and a tech campus with a public waterfront.
The Committee on the Environment (COTE) of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has unveiled its annual top ten awards for high-performance projects. The projects feature cutting-edge accomplishments in all ten COTE design categories (which a few years ago were also promulgated as the AIA Framework for Design Excellence... Read more
Webcast
The integrative process holds great promise—identifying cost savings, improving building performance, and helping teams discover and implement unique solutions. Proponents also point to other benefits, including shorter project timelines and a more inclusive (and even joyful) work climate. Despite these enticements, this way of... Read more
Spotlight Report
There are few materials that are as ubiquitous as concrete—or that cause as much environmental consternation. Concrete is one of the construction industry’s largest carbon emitters, responsible for about 5% to 8% of the world’s anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, yet it is also one of the most important building materials, used in... Read more
News Brief
A set of core principles and assessment guidelines from the Integrity Council aim to help purchasers identify “high-quality” carbon credits.
Carbon credits have become ubiquitous. Building owners have long been able to purchase offsets to make up for onsite energy use (as incentivized in LEED) or embodied carbon (as required by the Living Building Challenge). But now even everyday passengers can pay an extra dollar or two to make up for the emissions of an airplane... Read more
Feature Article
Advancements in low-carbon concrete materials and strategies have led to greater adoption in much of the U.S. Now it's time to start using them.
There are few materials that are as ubiquitous as concrete—or that cause as much environmental consternation. Concrete is one of the construction industry’s largest carbon emitters, responsible for about 5% to 8% of the world’s anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, yet it is also one of the most important building materials, used in even the... Read more
Product Review
Urban Machine developed a machine that can de-nail salvaged wood for reuse onsite.
Demolition activities in the U.S. create 37 million tons of wood debris each year, with the vast majority ending up in landfill, according to a 2018 report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Harvesting and processing virgin timber can be energy and water intensive, can cause forest degradation, and comes with unknown levels of... Read more
News Analysis
Building professionals advocating for stricter local requirements can learn from the innovative stretch energy codes in Massachusetts.
Working one-on-one with clients to help a building perform well on environmental, health, and social criteria is what gets many design and construction professionals out of bed in the morning.
Convincing politicians and civil servants that they should make those criteria a matter of law, and then... Read more
April Fools
The new tool OpenAI-Architect proves problematic with the design of the new Leave It to Beaver Center at Disney World.
Everything started out all right. The state oversight board for Disney World was thrilled at how much money they would save by using OpenAI-Architect in the design of their new Leave It to Beaver Interpretive Center in Orlando.
“We thought it was a no-brainer,” noted Remington DeSantis, the recently appointed... Read more
April Fools
USGBC adds psychedelic Integrative Process prerequisites designed to be a paradigm-shifting expansion of LEED.
“Integrative process begins at home,” quipped Elroy “Ty” Hamit, senior vice president for social transformation and development, kicking off a surprise webinar Friday night during which the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) introduced two groundbreaking Integrative Process prerequisites for LEED v4.20. The new requirements, titled... Read more
April Fools
Pink hydrogen made using nuclear energy will provide the power of tomorrow, fueling everything from robot warehouses to flying cars.
Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. And nuclear furnaces, like those that power our sun. Put them together and they have the potential to drive industry, fuel transportation, and provide energy to the factories and skyscrapers of tomorrow.
How could this be? you ask. Here on Earth?
... Read moreApril Fools
After complaints about rejected credits and failed certifications, BuildingGreen took action.
BuildingGreen will be changing the name of its LEED certification project tool, LEEDuser.com, to the more apt FOLLOWuser.com.
“One of our core values at BuildingGreen is transparency,” said BuildingGreen founder Alex Wilson, “so we believe it makes the most sense to highlight that professionals building with LEED... Read more
April Fools
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report outlines some of the significant impacts of current and future carbon outputs. What do Americans think?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) on climate impacts is the culmination of eight years of research from hundreds of scientists across the globe. The most recent synthesis report outlines the significant consequences of rising greenhouse gas emissions, which include flooding, droughts... Read more
Feature Article
Four tax provisions could be used to include disadvantaged communities in the clean energy transition, but equity outcomes are unclear.
This article has been prepared for informational purposes only; it is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your firm’s tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
As our climate changes, it is becoming increasingly clear that our homes... Read more
Webcast
Why is ESG relevant to building industry professionals? Many of us are accustomed to sustainability programs and reporting. In this one-hour deep dive, we tap leading ESG experts for answers to burning questions many of us in the industry have about the intersection between ESG goals and the sustainability work we’ve been doing all... Read more