Reduced Life-Cycle Impacts
Is wood a sustainable material? It depends: a table made from reclaimed wood has a much smaller environmental footprint than one sourced from a monoculture plantation that replaced a rainforest.
Defining responsible material sourcing—and then finding responsibly sourced products—is complicated. Here you will find in-depth resources that detail the benefits and challenges of using biobased materials, reclaimed wood, fly ash, and other materials. Our resources also detail which companies and industries are ahead of the curve in offering responsible choices.
What about the materials you don’t use? Using less is always a good idea—as long as that doesn’t compromise performance.
Doing more with less takes knowledge and attention: it’s about investing in human resources instead of wasting natural resources. And since our small planet has more humans every day, we’re not likely to run out of them anytime soon. Durability, efficient structural systems, and repairing and retrofitting rather than replacing are all key strategies to consider.
Reduced Life-Cycle Impacts
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Finding Products for LEED v4 and v4.1
Feature Article
Finding and managing product information for LEED has changed—and v4.1 has added even more to think about.
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The Potential of Prefab: How Modular Construction Can Be Green
Feature Article
Offsite modular construction not only cuts costs and construction times but also benefits people and the planet.
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Better Steel, Lower Impacts
Feature Article
Steel’s reputation for high embodied energy and carbon emissions are well documented, but improvements in processing, product selection, and end use can minimize these impacts.
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Certified Wood: How SFI Compares to FSC
Feature Article
FSC-certified wood is ingrained in rating systems like LEED, but rival SFI has a revised standard. Can it show it’s just as good on the issues that matter most?
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Building Product Disclosure & Optimization (BPDO) Cheat Sheet
Infographic
The three Building Product Disclosure and Optimization (BPDO) credits in LEED v4 are pushing the industry into new territory. Suppliers have made significant progress on materials transparency and optimization since the release of version 4, but not enough to make all the points realistically achievable. With version 4.1, LEED has modified thresholds and simplified requirements so that all six points should be within reach for most projects.
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Sand, a Surprisingly Limited Resource
Primer
Demand for the basic raw material for glass and concrete is prompting illegal mining that’s leaving beaches and riverbeds bare.
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What These Forestry Labels Really Mean
Infographic
You’ve seen FSC and SFI labels on wood products. Most often, you’ve seen no label at all. Here’s a green guide to each one.
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The 12 Product Rules
Infographic
These 12 product rules provide a simple approach to selecting better, healthier, and more environmentally responsible building products and materials.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Unmilled Timber Frames Go High Tech, Replacing Steel
Product Review
Keep the beauty of round logs, and get more strength from an engineered wood structure, promises Wisconsin-based company WholeTrees.
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A Tour of Cool Products from Greenbuild 2016
Product Review
These products from Greenbuild 2016 expo floor save water, use wood in innovative ways, and protect buildings and materials from the elements
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BuildingGreen Announces Top 10 Products for 2017
Product Review
Our innovative Top 10 product selections reduce stormwater and wastewater, improve efficiency and IAQ, and contain fewer hazardous materials.
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Treated Wood for Ground Contact, Minus the Toxic Pesticides
Product Review
Accoya, now code-approved for fungus and termite resistance, relies on acetylation as a benign alternative to conventional pressure-treated wood.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Justice, Circularity Overhauled in Cradle to Cradle v4
News Analysis
The latest version of the Cradle to Cradle product standard also expands embodied carbon requirements and replaces the controversial “banned list” with a new approach.
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Reality Check for LEED v4 Product Credits
News Analysis
The three “Disclosure and Optimization” or “BPDO” credits in LEED v4 include both some pretty easy points and points that are not yet achievable.
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Stone Certification Recognized in LEED v4, Living Buildings
News Brief
Natural stone is one of the oldest green building materials, but it’s the newest to have a rigorous multi-attribute certification recognized by USGBC
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Legal Wood in LEED Barks Up Wrong Tree, Say NGOs
News Analysis
A pilot credit to address illegal logging has been criticized by advocacy groups like the Sierra Club. They’ve offered USGBC their own ideas.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Building Products Matter Even More Than We Thought
Op-Ed
Operational energy use is critical, but materials might be an even bigger part of the solution to climate change and other pressing environmental issues.
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FSC, LEED, and the Price of Perfectionism
Op-Ed
A hard line against industry-sponsored alternatives to FSC certification in the past may have unfortunate outcomes for the world’s forests.
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EBN's Position on Fly Ash
Op-Ed
EBN is concerned about heavy metals leaching from products made with fly ash, and thinks these products should only be used if they reduce greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere or if the risk of leaching is very low.
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Indigenous Cradle to Cradle
Op-Ed
Reader Bruce King questions the focus of the Cradle to Cradle product certification program on synthetic materials.
Learning Resources
A wide range of education options, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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The Potential of Prefab: How Modular Construction Can Be Green
Feature Article
Offsite modular construction not only cuts costs and construction times but also benefits people and the planet.
-
Better Steel, Lower Impacts
Feature Article
Steel’s reputation for high embodied energy and carbon emissions are well documented, but improvements in processing, product selection, and end use can minimize these impacts.
-
Certified Wood: How SFI Compares to FSC
Feature Article
FSC-certified wood is ingrained in rating systems like LEED, but rival SFI has a revised standard. Can it show it’s just as good on the issues that matter most?
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The Potential of Prefab: How Modular Construction Can Be Green
Spotlight Report
Just For Fun
Something weird happens every April at BuildingGreen...
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Reclaimed Building Materials in the Age of COVID
April Fools
Using reclaimed building materials is a great way to save resources and lower the embodied carbon of a building, but obtaining these materials in the age of COVID has created a new set of legal and ethical challenges.
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Trump Presidential Library to Feature Golf, Gambling
April Fools
The Trump Presidential Library will break with staid traditions and offer some unusual amenities.